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Lin H, He C, Koprivsek JJ, Chen J, Zhou Z, Arulanandam B, Xu Z, Tang L, Zhong G. Antigen-Specific CD4 + T Cell-Derived Gamma Interferon Is Both Necessary and Sufficient for Clearing Chlamydia from the Small Intestine but Not the Large Intestine. Infect Immun 2019; 87:e00055-19. [PMID: 30962403 PMCID: PMC6529659 DOI: 10.1128/iai.00055-19] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2019] [Accepted: 03/27/2019] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
The genital tract pathogen Chlamydia trachomatis is frequently detected in the gastrointestinal tract, but the host immunity that regulates chlamydial colonization in the gut remains unclear. In a Chlamydia muridarum-C57 mouse model, chlamydial organisms are cleared from the genital tract in ∼4 weeks, but the genital organisms can spread to the gastrointestinal tract. We found that the gastrointestinal chlamydial organisms were cleared from the small intestine by day 28, paralleling their infection course in the genital tract, but persisted in the large intestine for long periods. Mice deficient in α/β T cells or CD4+ T cells but not CD8+ T cells showed chlamydial persistence in the small intestine, indicating a critical role for CD4+ T cells in clearing Chlamydia from the small intestine. The CD4+ T cell-dependent clearance is likely mediated by gamma interferon (IFN-γ), since mice deficient in IFN-γ but not interleukin 22 (IL-22) signaling pathways rescued chlamydial colonization in the small intestine. Furthermore, exogenous IFN-γ was sufficient for clearing Chlamydia from the small intestine but not the large intestine. Mice deficient in developing Chlamydia-specific Th1 immunity showed chlamydial persistence in the small intestine. Finally, IFN-γ-producing CD4+ but not CD8+ T cells from immunized donor mice were sufficient for eliminating Chlamydia from the small intestine but not the large intestine of recipient mice. Thus, we have demonstrated a critical role for Th1 immunity in clearing Chlamydia from the small intestine but not the large intestine, indicating that chlamydial colonization in different regions of the gastrointestinal tract is regulated by distinct immune mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hui Lin
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, The Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas, USA
| | - Conghui He
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas, USA
| | - John J Koprivsek
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas, USA
| | - Jianlin Chen
- Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, The Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China
| | - Zhiguang Zhou
- Department of Metabolism & Endocrinology, The Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China
| | - Bernard Arulanandam
- Department of Biology, College of Science, University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas, USA
| | - Zhenming Xu
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas, USA
| | - Lingli Tang
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, The Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China
| | - Guangming Zhong
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas, USA
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