Animal models of infection-mediated vasculitis.

The human vasculitides are idiopathic syndromes for which both autoimmune and infectious causes have been proposed. Although proof of a correlation between infection and human vasculitis would aid in patient management, it is difficult to confirm causality. To study infection-mediated vascular disease, different animal models have been developed. Infections with the bacterium Chlamydia pneumoniae, an RNA virus, and herpesviruses all cause vascular pathology and are reviewed here. Many aspects of the human diseases are recapitulated in these models, so that further animal studies may help elucidate mechanisms of infection-mediated vasculitis. Such results may improve management, and potentially prevention, of these important human diseases.