Evidence for cGAS-STING signaling in the female genital tract resistance to Chlamydia trachomatis infection

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xin Su ◽  
Hong Xu ◽  
Maegan French ◽  
Yujie Zhao ◽  
Lingli Tang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Innate Immunity ◽  
Chlamydia Trachomatis ◽  
Signaling Pathway ◽  
Genital Tract ◽  
Essential Role ◽  
Cultured Cells ◽  
Female Genital Tract ◽  
Lower Genital Tract ◽  
Female Genital

Sexually transmitted Chlamydia trachomatis can ascend to the upper genital tract due to its resistance to innate immunity in the lower genital tract. C. trachomatis can activate cGAS-STING signaling pathway in cultured cells via either cGAS or STING. The current study was designed to evaluate the role of the cGAS-STING pathway in innate immunity against C. trachomatis in the mouse genital tract. Following intravaginal inoculation, C. trachomatis significantly declined by day 5 following a peak infection on day 3 while the mouse-adapted C. muridarum continued to rise for >1 week, indicating that C. trachomatis is susceptible to the innate immunity in the female mouse genital tract. This conclusion was supported by the observation of a similar shedding course in mice deficient in adaptive immunity. Thus, C. trachomatis can be used to evaluate innate immunity in the female genital tract. It was found that mice deficient in either cGAS or STING significantly increased the yields of live C. trachomatis on day 5, indicating an essential role of the cGAS-STING signaling pathway in innate immunity of the mouse genital tract. Comparison of live C. trachomatis recovered from different genital tissues revealed that the cGAS-STING-dependent immunity against C. trachomatis was restricted to the mouse lower genital tract regardless of whether C. trachomatis was inoculated intravaginally or transcervically. Thus, we have demonstrated an essential role of the cGAS-STING signaling pathway in innate immunity against chlamydial infection, laying a foundation for further illuminating the mechanisms of the innate immunity in the female lower genital tract.

scholarly journals Role of Gamma Interferon in Controlling Murine Chlamydial Genital Tract Infection

1999 ◽  
Vol 67 (10) ◽  
pp. 5518-5521 ◽  
Author(s):  
James I. Ito ◽  
Joseph M. Lyons
Keyword(s):  
Chlamydia Trachomatis ◽  
Tract Infection ◽  
Genital Tract ◽  
Chlamydial Infection ◽  
Female Genital Tract ◽  
Gamma Interferon ◽  
Genital Tract Infection ◽  
Ifn Γ ◽  
Female Genital

ABSTRACT Earlier investigations have not shown an important role for gamma interferon (IFN-γ) in the early clearance of chlamydial infection from the murine female genital tract. In a model using a human genital isolate of Chlamydia trachomatis in IFN-γ and IFN-γ receptor knockout mice, we were able to demonstrate a major role for IFN-γ in mediating control of infection throughout the course of infection.

Significance of Barteroides Ureolyticus in the Lower Genital Tract

1992 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 107-110 ◽  
Author(s):  
P D Woolley ◽  
G R Kinghorn ◽  
K W Bennett ◽  
A Eley
Keyword(s):  
Genital Tract ◽  
Female Genital Tract ◽  
Selective Medium ◽  
Lower Genital Tract ◽  
Differential Medium ◽  
Local Family ◽  
Asymptomatic Women ◽  
Asymptomatic Men ◽  
Female Genital ◽  
Male Genital

In a study to determine the significance of Bacteroides ureolyticus in the lower urogenital tract using a new selective and differential medium, this organism was isolated from 30.1% of asymptomatic men, 37.8% of men with genital warts, and 26.3% of men with non-gonococcal urethritis. Using the same selective medium B. ureolyticus was isolated from 49% of women attending the same genitourinary clinic with symptoms of vaginal discharge and/or pruritis vulvae, 44.1% of asymptomatic women, and 50% of asymptomatic women attending a local family planning clinic. Furthermore, this organism was isolated from 27.1% of women whose vaginal specimens isolated commensal organisms only, 43.2% with C. albicans, 59.4% with U. urealyticum, 74.4% with M. hominis, and 76.8% with G. vaginalis. On testing with the API ATB 32A test strips, 86% of the positive isolates of B. ureolyticus from the female genital tract were indistinguishable from those isolated from the male genital tract indicating that this organism is common to the lower genital tract of both sexes. These results indicate that B. ureolyticus is a commensal in the lower genital tract.

CHLAMYDIA TRACHOMATIS IN THE UPPER FEMALE GENITAL TRACT WITH NEGATIVE CERVICAL CULTURE

The Lancet ◽  
1986 ◽  
Vol 328 (8503) ◽  
pp. 390 ◽  
Author(s):  
BirgerR. Møller ◽  
Pia Kaspersen ◽  
FrankV. Kristiansen ◽  
Per-Anders Mårdh
Keyword(s):  
Chlamydia Trachomatis ◽  
Genital Tract ◽  
Female Genital Tract ◽  
Female Genital

scholarly journals Innate immunity and the sensing of infection, damage and danger in the female genital tract

2017 ◽  
Vol 119 ◽  
pp. 67-73 ◽  
Author(s):  
Iain Martin Sheldon ◽  
Siân-Eleri Owens ◽  
Matthew Lloyd Turner
Keyword(s):  
Innate Immunity ◽  
Genital Tract ◽  
Female Genital Tract ◽  
Female Genital

scholarly journals LEVEL OF SEX HORMONES AND THE SEVERITY OF HYPERPLASTIC PROCESSES IN THE GENITAL TRACT IN WOMEN WITH CHRONIC CHLAMYDIAL INFECTION

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-31
Author(s):  
N. K. Guskova ◽  
E. V. Verenikina ◽  
T. Yu. Myagkova ◽  
A. P. Menshenina ◽  
E. A. Guskova ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Chlamydia Trachomatis ◽  
Sex Hormones ◽  
Genital Tract ◽  
Chlamydial Infection ◽  
Essential Element ◽  
Infectious Agent ◽  
Morphological Data ◽  
Pelvic Organs ◽  
Female Genital

Purpose of the study. To evaluate the role of chronic chlamydial infection in the genesis of proliferative processes in the female genital area.Materials and methods. The study involved 267 women aged from 27 to 43 years. Depending on the severity of the pathological process in the genital tract and the presence of the Chlamydia trachomatis infection, 6 groups were distinguished: 1st — 30 somatically healthy women without pathologies of the female reproductive system; 2nd and 3rd — those with inflammatory processes in the reproductive organs of non-chlamydial (36) and chlamydial nature (38); 4th and 5th — those with proliferative processes in the pelvic organs of non-chlamydial (50) and chlamydial nature (58); 6th — patients with cervical cancer (55). The PCR and ELISA (Chem Well, USA) methods were used to identify the presence of Chlamydia trachomatis. The concentration of estradiol (E) and progesterone (P) (ELISA) in the blood, as well as their ratio (E/P), was determined. The as-obtained data were compared with the results of cytomorphological and ultrasound studies.Results. Proliferative processes in the genital tract are accompanied by a change in the level of female sex hormones, in particular, by a sharp decrease in progesterone in the luteal phase of the cycle against the background of absolute or relative hyperestrogenism. These changes are more pronounced in women with chronic chlamydial infection. A connection between the presence of the infectious agent in question and the severity of hyperplastic processes in the female genital tract is established. A comparison of the obtained morphological data with the blood progesterone content in women without Chlamydia trachomatis showed that an increase in the severity of disorders correlates with a decrease in the level of female hormones. In women infected with Chlamydia trachomatis, the severity of hyperplastic processes shifts to the right, i. e. towards normal progesterone values. Therefore, even at maximal progesterone concentrations close to the reference values, a greater severity of pathological changes is observed.Conclusion. The obtained results demonstrate the undeniable role of chronic chlamydial infection in initiating a hormonal imbalance towards absolute or relative hyperestrogenia with a severe progesterone deficiency. A causal relationship of the Chlamydia trachomatis infectious agent with the severity of hyperplastic processes in the pelvic organs is established. It is concluded that the detection of chlamydial infection should be considered as an essential element in the screening and prevention of hyperplastic processes.

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