Chlamydia trachomatis heat shock protein 60 (cHSP60) induces murine cervicitis / 中华皮肤科杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To investigate the role of cHSP60 in the pathogenesis of murine cervicitis.Methods Fifty female C3H/HeN mice were randomly and equally classified into 5 groups, including the control group receiving no treatment and 4 groups receiving intravaginal inoculation of cHSP60 (cHSP60 group),live elementary bodies of Chlamydia trachomatis mouse pneumonitis (MoPn group), inactive elementary bodies of MoPn (inactive MoPn group) and growth medium (medium group), respectively. Five days after the inoculation,cervical tissue was resected from these mice and subjected to pathological examination. Results There were varying degrees of inflammatory reaction characterized by neutrophil infiltration, necrosis and shedding of mucosal cells in the cervices of mice in cGSP60 and MoPn groups. No statistical difference was observed in the incidence of cervicitis (90% vs. 80%, P ＞ 0.05), neutrophile count [76.00 (25.0 - 80.0) vs. 25.00 (8.75 -32.5), P＞ 0.05] or inflammation score [12.5 (11.5 - 14.25) vs. 9.00 (8.00 - 11.5), P ＞ 0.05] between the cHSP60 and MoPn group. The inflammatory reaction was weak with decreased incidence of cervicitis (40%),inflammation score [0.00 (0.00- 12.50)] and neutrophile count [0.00 (0.00- 15.50)] in inactive MoPn group compared with the cHSP60 and MoPn groups (all P ＜ 0.05). A small number of neutrophils migrated into the superficial layer of cervical mucosa in only 2 mice in the medium group. Conclusion cHSP60 may be a primary pathogenic factor in chlamydial genital tract infection.