title: Analysis of Polymorphic Membrane Protein Expression in Cultured Cells Identifies PmpA and PmpH of Chlamydia psittaci as Candidate Factors in Pathogenesis and Immunity to Infection.
abstract: The polymorphic membrane protein (Pmp) paralogous families of Chlamydia trachomatis, Chlamydia pneumoniae and Chlamydia abortus are putative targets for Chlamydia vaccine development. To determine whether this is also the case for Pmp family members of C. psittaci, we analyzed transcription levels, protein production and localization of several Pmps of C. psittaci. Pmp expression profiles were characterized using quantitative real-time PCR (RT-qPCR), immunofluorescence (IF) and immuno-electron microscopy (IEM) under normal and stress conditions. We found that PmpA was highly produced in all inclusions as early as 12 hpi in all biological replicates. In addition, PmpA and PmpH appeared to be unusually accessible to antibody as determined by both immunofluorescence and immuno-electron microscopy. Our results suggest an important role for these Pmps in the pathogenesis of C. psittaci, and make them promising candidates in vaccine development.
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Production, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Van Lent
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Sciences, Faculty of Pharmaceutical, Biomedical and Veterinary Sciences, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium.|Department of Molecular Biotechnology, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
authors.forename: Winnok H
authors.initials: WH
authors.lastname: De Vos
authors.affiliation: Institute for Genome Sciences and Department of Microbiology & Immunology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, Unites States of America.
authors.forename: Heather
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Huot Creasy
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbial Pathogenesis, University of Maryland School of Dentistry, Baltimore, Maryland, Unites States of America.
authors.forename: Patricia X
authors.initials: PX
authors.lastname: Marques
authors.affiliation: Institute for Genome Sciences and Department of Microbiology & Immunology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, Unites States of America.
authors.forename: Jacques
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ravel
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Production, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
authors.forename: Daisy
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Vanrompay
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbial Pathogenesis, University of Maryland School of Dentistry, Baltimore, Maryland, Unites States of America.
authors.forename: Patrik
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bavoil
authors.affiliation: University of Maryland, Baltimore, Electron Microscopy Core Imaging Facility, Maryland, Unites States of America.
authors.forename: Ru-Ching
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Hsia
mesh_terms: D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D002690:Chlamydia Infections / Q000276:immunology*; D002691:Chlamydophila psittaci / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000472:pathogenicity; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D006367:HeLa Cells; D006801:Humans; D016253:Microscopy, Immunoelectron
chemical_list: D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins