Chlamydia trachomatis can protect host cells against apoptosis in the absence of cellular Inhibitor of Apoptosis Proteins and Mcl-1.
Infection with Chlamydia protects mammalian host cells against apoptosis. Hypotheses have been proposed to explain this molecularly, including the up-regulation of host anti-apoptotic proteins such as cellular Inhibitor of Apoptosis Protein (IAP) 2 and the Bcl-2 protein Mcl-1. To test for the importance of these proteins, we used mouse embryonic fibroblasts from gene-targeted mice that were deficient in cIAP1, cIAP2, cIAP1/cIAP2, XIAP, or Mcl-1. Infection with Chlamydia trachomatis protected all cells equally well against apoptosis, which was induced either with tumour necrosis factor/cycloheximide (IAP-knock-out cells) or staurosporine (Mcl-1-knock-out). Therefore, these cellular anti-apoptotic proteins are not essential for apoptosis-protection by C. trachomatis.
Ying
Songmin
S
Institute for Medical Microbiology, Immunology and Hygiene, Technical University Munich, Trogerstrasse 30, D-81675 Munich, Germany.
Christian
Jan G
JG
Paschen
Stefan A
SA
Häcker
Georg
G
D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis; D053148:Caspase 3 / Q000032:analysis; D053179:Caspase 7 / Q000032:analysis; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002692:Chlamydia trachomatis / Q000502:physiology*; D053938:DNA Fragmentation; D005347:Fibroblasts / Q000382:microbiology; D051034:Inhibitor of Apoptosis Proteins / Q000172:deficiency*; D051379:Mice; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D064549:Myeloid Cell Leukemia Sequence 1 Protein; D009363:Neoplasm Proteins / Q000172:deficiency* / Q000276:immunology*; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 / Q000172:deficiency* / Q000276:immunology*
D051034:Inhibitor of Apoptosis Proteins; C579094:Mcl1 protein, mouse; D064549:Myeloid Cell Leukemia Sequence 1 Protein; D009363:Neoplasm Proteins; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2; D053148:Caspase 3; D053179:Caspase 7