Background
Innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) are comprised of five distinct subsets. ILCs are found at mucosal barriers and may fight invading pathogens.
Chlamydia
is an intracellular bacterium that infects the mucosa of the genital tract and can cause severe tissue damage.
Methods
We used a mouse infection model with
Chlamydia muridarum
(
Cmu
) to measure the reaction of genital tract ILCs to the infection.
Results
Tissue resident natural killer cells were the largest group in the uninfected female genital tract, and their number did not substantially change. Conventional NK cells were present at the greatest numbers during acute infection, while ILC1 cells continuously increased to high numbers. ILC2 and ILC3 cells were found at lower numbers that oscillated by a factor of 2-4. The majority of ILC3 transdifferentiated into ILC1 cells. NK cells and ILC1 cells produced IFN-γ and, rarely, TNF, but only early in the infection. Lack of B and T cells increased, while the loss of myeloid cells decreased ILC numbers. ILCs accumulated to high density in the oviduct, a main site of tissue destruction.
Conclusions
ILC subsets are part of the inflammatory and immune reaction during infection with
Cmu
and may contribute to tissue damage during chlamydial infection.
A novel cellular automata-partial differential equation model for understanding chlamydial infection and ascension of the female genital tract