Work

Plasmid CDS5 Influences Infectivity and Virulence in a Mouse Model of Chlamydia trachomatis Urogenital Infection

Year: 2014

Type: article

Abstract: The native plasmid of both Chlamydia muridarum and Chlamydia trachomatis has been shown to control virulence and infectivity in mice and in lower primates. We recently described the development of a plasmid-based genetic transformation protocol for Chlamydia trachomatis that for the first time provides a platform for the molecular dissection of the function of the chlamydial plasmid and its individual genes or coding sequences (CDS). In the present study, we transformed a plasmid-free lymphogranuloma venereum isolate of C. trachomatis, serovar L2, with either the original shuttle vector (pGFP::SW2) or a derivative of pGFP::SW2 carrying a deletion of the plasmid CDS5 gene (pCDS5KO). Female mice were inoculated with these strains either intravaginally or transcervically. We found that transformation of the plasmid-free isolate with the intact pGFP::SW2 vector significantly enhanced infectivity and induction of host inflammatory responses compared to the plasmid-free parental isolate. Transformation with pCDS5KO resulted in infection courses and inflammatory responses not significantly different from those observed in mice infected with the plasmid-free isolate. These results indicate a critical role of plasmid CDS5 in in vivo fitness and in induction of inflammatory responses. To our knowledge, these are the first in vivo observations ascribing infectivity and virulence to a specific plasmid gene.

Source: Infection and Immunity

DOI: 10.1128/iai.01795-14