[Interleukins in Chlamydia infection: An update]

Chlamydia infection remains a problem for the world. Hundreds of millions of people suffer from Chlamydia-related diseases, but the specific infection mechanism is still unclear. Studies have shown that interleukins is involved in the innate immune process after Chlamydia infection. In the early stage of infection, Chlamydia, through receptor-mediated multiple signal transduction pathways, such as mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), signal transducers and activators of transcription 3 (STAT3), myeloid differentiation factor 88 (MyD88) pathways, promotes the body to release a variety of pro-inflammatory interleukins, such as interleukin 1β (IL-1β), IL-6, IL-8 and IL-17, which inhibits Chlamydia replication and accelerates the clearance of Chlamydia. With the continuous secretion of pro-inflammatory interleukins, the body regulates immune cells to secrete anti-inflammatory interleukins, such as IL-4, IL-10 and IL-22, to reduce inflammatory reaction and tissue damage. We summarized the role of interleukins in Chlamydia infection in order to provide reference for clinical treatment.