Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 8, 2026
09:02
Monitoring Influenza Virus Survival Outside the Host Using Real-Time Cell Analysis
Published on: February 20, 2021
3.5K
Host-Cell Survival and Death During Chlamydia Infection
Songmin Ying1, Matthew Pettengill, David M Ojcius
1Institute for Medical Microbiology, Technische Universität München, D-81675 Munich, Germany.
Current Immunology Reviews
|October 10, 2008
Summary
Chlamydia trachomatis infection impacts host cell survival by inhibiting apoptosis early on. Later cell death involves apoptosis and necrosis, but not caspases, highlighting complex infection mechanisms.
Area of Science:
- Microbiology
- Immunology
- Cell Biology
Background:
- Chlamydia trachomatis causes sexually transmitted infections and preventable blindness.
- Mechanisms of chlamydial pathogenesis, inflammation, and tissue damage are not fully understood.
- Host cell survival and death dynamics during infection are critical for disease outcome.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of host cell survival and death in Chlamydia trachomatis infection.
- To elucidate the mechanisms of apoptosis and necrosis modulation by chlamydiae.
- To highlight the need for animal models to study chlamydial pathogenesis.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of host cell death pathways during Chlamydia trachomatis infection.
- Investigation of apoptosis inhibition at early infection stages.
- Characterization of late-stage cell death, distinguishing between apoptosis and necrosis.
Main Results:
- Chlamydial infection initially inhibits the mitochondrial pathway of apoptosis, promoting cell survival.
- Later cell death exhibits features of both apoptosis and necrosis.
- Pro-apoptotic caspases are not implicated in the later stages of cell death.
Conclusions:
- Host cell survival and death are key factors in Chlamydia trachomatis pathogenesis.
- Chlamydial modulation of cell death is complex, involving distinct mechanisms at different infection times.
- Animal models are essential for understanding the in vivo consequences of chlamydial infection on host cell death and immune response.
Related Concept Videos
01:29Bacterial Phylum Chlamydiae
581
The phylum Chlamydiae or Chlamydiota is composed of a single order, Chlamydiales. This phylum consists entirely of obligate intracellular parasites that infect eukaryotic hosts. While human pathogens within this group have been studied extensively, the phylum encompasses many species capable of interacting with various eukaryotic organisms. Members of Chlamydiae are typically small cocci, approximately 0.5 μm in diameter, and exhibit a distinctive developmental cycle. As is characteristic...
581
01:18Autophagic Cell Death
4.6K
Christian de Duve discovered “autophagy,” a process in which cellular components are engulfed by membrane-bound organelles called autophagosomes. The autophagosomes then fuse with lysosomes to digest the enclosed contents. Autophagy is generally activated in cells to prevent cell death. However, cell death is triggered when the damage is beyond repair.
Autophagy and Apoptosis
Autophagy can activate apoptosis. In normal conditions, the autophagy activating protein Beclin-1 and...
Autophagy and Apoptosis
Autophagy can activate apoptosis. In normal conditions, the autophagy activating protein Beclin-1 and...
4.6K
01:30Overview of Cell Death
10.2K
Cell death is an essential process where the body gets rid of old or damaged cells. Cell proliferation and death need to be balanced, as an imbalance between the two may lead to cancer or autoimmune diseases.
Cell death was observed in the early 19th century, but there was no experimental evidence to prove it. In 1842, Carl Vogt first discovered cell death in a metamorphic toad; however, it was not termed ‘cell death.’ Scientists discovered different cell death pathways only in the...
Cell death was observed in the early 19th century, but there was no experimental evidence to prove it. In 1842, Carl Vogt first discovered cell death in a metamorphic toad; however, it was not termed ‘cell death.’ Scientists discovered different cell death pathways only in the...
10.2K
01:18Survival Curves
722
Survival curves are graphical representations that depict the survival experience of a population over time, offering an intuitive way to track the proportion of individuals who remain event-free at each time point. These curves are widely used in fields such as medicine, public health, and reliability engineering to visualize and compare survival probabilities across different groups or conditions.
The Kaplan-Meier estimator is the most common method for constructing survival curves. This...
The Kaplan-Meier estimator is the most common method for constructing survival curves. This...
722
01:19Survival Tree
433
Survival trees are a non-parametric method used in survival analysis to model the relationship between a set of covariates and the time until an event of interest occurs, often referred to as the "time-to-event" or "survival time." This method is particularly useful when dealing with censored data, where the event has not occurred for some individuals by the end of the study period, or when the exact time of the event is unknown.
Building a Survival Tree
Constructing a...
Building a Survival Tree
Constructing a...
433
01:18Introduction To Survival Analysis
803
Survival analysis is a statistical method used to study time-to-event data, where the "event" might represent outcomes like death, disease relapse, system failure, or recovery. A unique feature of survival data is censoring, which occurs when the event of interest has not been observed for some individuals during the study period. This requires specialized techniques to handle incomplete data effectively.
The primary goal of survival analysis is to estimate survival time—the time...
The primary goal of survival analysis is to estimate survival time—the time...
803