Chlamydial Intracellular Survival Strategies
- 1Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Center for Microbial Pathogenesis, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina 27710
- 2Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California 94143
- 3Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California 94143
- Correspondence: valdi001{at}mc.duke.edu
Abstract
Chlamydia trachomatis is the most common sexually transmitted bacterial pathogen and the causative agent of blinding trachoma. Although Chlamydia is protected from humoral immune responses by residing within remodeled intracellular vacuoles, it still must contend with multilayered intracellular innate immune defenses deployed by its host while scavenging for nutrients. Here we provide an overview of Chlamydia biology and highlight recent findings detailing how this vacuole-bound pathogen manipulates host–cellular functions to invade host cells and maintain a replicative niche.
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