title: The Chlamydia-Secreted Protease CPAF Promotes Chlamydial Survival in the Mouse Lower Genital Tract.
abstract: Despite the extensive in vitro characterization of CPAF (chlamydial protease/proteasome-like activity factor), its role in chlamydial infection and pathogenesis remains unclear. We now report that a Chlamydia trachomatis strain deficient in expression of CPAF (L2-17) is no longer able to establish a successful infection in the mouse lower genital tract following an intravaginal inoculation. The L2-17 organisms were cleared from the mouse lower genital tract within a few days, while a CPAF-sufficient C. trachomatis strain (L2-5) survived in the lower genital tract for more than 3 weeks. However, both the L2-17 and L2-5 organisms maintained robust infection courses that lasted up to 4 weeks when they were directly delivered into the mouse upper genital tract. The CPAF-dependent chlamydial survival in the lower genital tract was confirmed in multiple strains of mice. Thus, we have demonstrated a critical role of CPAF in promoting C. trachomatis survival in the mouse lower genital tracts. It will be interesting to further investigate the mechanisms of the CPAF-dependent chlamydial pathogenicity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology & Immunology, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas, USA.
authors.forename: Zhangsheng
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinic Diagnosis, Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China.
authors.forename: Lingli
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology & Immunology, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas, USA.
authors.forename: Lili
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Shao
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology & Immunology, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas, USA.
authors.forename: Yuyang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology & Immunology, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas, USA.
authors.forename: Tianyuan
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas, USA.
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Schenken
authors.affiliation: Duke Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina, USA.
authors.forename: Raphael
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Valdivia
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology & Immunology, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas, USA Zhongg@uthscsa.edu.
authors.forename: Guangming
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zhong
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D002690:Chlamydia Infections / Q000382:microbiology*; D002692:Chlamydia trachomatis / Q000378:metabolism*; D010450:Endopeptidases / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D005835:Genitalia / Q000382:microbiology*; D006367:HeLa Cells; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008809:Mice, Inbred C3H; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D046988:Proteasome Endopeptidase Complex / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D010450:Endopeptidases; D046988:Proteasome Endopeptidase Complex; C425923:CPA factor