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Chlamydia Infection Across Host Species Boundaries Promotes Distinct Sets of Transcribed Anti-Apoptotic Factors

Joshua E Messinger1, Emmalin Nelton1, Colleen Feeney1

  • 1Department of Biology, Ithaca College Ithaca, NY, USA.

Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology
|January 19, 2016
PubMed

Insights

Chlamydiae bacteria evade host cell death by inhibiting apoptosis. This study reveals distinct gene expression patterns in different host species, showing Chlamydiae infection does not trigger a universal host response.

Area of Science:

  • Microbiology
  • Immunology
  • Evolutionary Biology

Background:

  • Chlamydiae are obligate intracellular bacteria causing significant human and veterinary diseases.
  • These ancient bacteria have adapted to humans twice, leading to C. trachomatis and C. pneumoniae infections.
  • Host cells defend against Chlamydiae by inducing apoptosis, but these bacteria have evolved to inhibit cell death.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the impact of Chlamydiae infection on anti-apoptotic gene transcription across diverse host species.
  • To determine if Chlamydiae infection elicits a conserved host response regarding cell viability mechanisms.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of host gene expression patterns, specifically focusing on anti-apoptotic genes like Mcl1 and cIAPs.
  • Comparative study across different host-pathogen pairs to identify conserved or distinct transcriptional responses.

Main Results:

  • Chlamydiae infection induced largely distinct patterns of anti-apoptotic gene expression (Mcl1 and cIAPs) in different host species.
  • No universally shared host transcriptional response was observed across all pathogen-host interactions studied.

Conclusions:

  • Chlamydiae employ species-specific strategies to manipulate host cell apoptosis.
  • Understanding these unique host-pathogen interactions is crucial for identifying emerging infectious diseases.
Keywords:
Chlamydiaapoptosisemerging diseaseevolutiontranscription

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