Search results for "Chlamydia Infections"
showing 10 items of 13 documents
The diagnosis of chronic endometritis in infertile asymptomatic women: a comparative study of histology, microbial cultures, hysteroscopy, and molecu…
2017
Background Chronic endometritis is a persistent inflammation of the endometrial mucosa caused by bacterial pathogens such as Enterobacteriaceae, Enterococcus, Streptococcus, Staphylococcus, Mycoplasma, and Ureaplasma. Although chronic endometritis can be asymptomatic, it is found in up to 40% of infertile patients and is responsible for repeated implantation failure and recurrent miscarriage. Diagnosis of chronic endometritis is based on hysteroscopy of the uterine cavity, endometrial biopsy with plasma cells being identified histologically, while specific treatment is determined based on microbial culture. However, not all microorganisms implicated are easily or readily culturable needing …
Cervical ectopy: associations with sexually transmitted infections and HIV. A cross-sectional study of high school students in rural South Africa.
2014
Objectives It has been hypothesised that ectopy may be associated with increased susceptibility to sexually transmitted infections (STIs). In this cross-sectional study, we wanted to explore the association between STIs (including HIV) and cervical ectopy. Methods We included 700 sexually active young women attending randomly selected high schools in a rural district in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The district is endemic of HIV and has a high prevalence of STIs. We did computer-assisted measurements of the ectocervical area covered by columnar epithelium (ectopy) in colposcopic images and STI analyses on cervicovaginal lavage and serum samples. All participating women answered a questionna…
Complement and atherogenesis: The unknown connection
1999
The question why low-density lipoprotein (LDL) stranded in the subendothelium of arteries should acquire the proinflammatory properties that initiate and sustain atherogenesis has puzzled researchers for decades. The most popular concept contends that oxidative processes are crucial because oxidized LDL (ox-LDL) produced in vitro has atherogenic properties and small amounts of it are found in atherosclerotic lesions. Recently, a possible role for vascular infections has also been considered because infectious agents, in particular Chlamydia pneumoniae, are sometimes present in the lesions. Here, evidence is summarized for a different concept of atherogenesis, which evolves from the fact tha…
Heat shock protein 60 autoimmunity and early lipid lesions in cholesterol-fed C57BL/6JBom mice during Chlamydia pneumoniae infection
2004
Chronic Chlamydia pneumoniae infection and autoimmunity to heat shock protein 60 (Hsp60) have both been documented to be associated with atherosclerosis. Herein, we studied the effects of C. pneumoniae infection and a diet with a low-cholesterol supplement on the development of autoantibodies to mouse Hsp60 and early lipid lesions in the aortic valve of C57BL/6JBom mice. In addition, pulmonary infection was investigated. C57BL/6JBom mice were given one to three C. pneumoniae inoculations and fed either a regular diet or a diet enriched with 0.2% cholesterol. Autoantibody responses against mouse Hsp60 developed in both diet groups when the mice were infected with C. pneumoniae and in uninfec…
Mycoplasma pneumoniae and Chlamydia pneumoniae infections in children with pneumonia. Mowgli Study Group.
2001
The most common clinical signs, host responses and radiographic patterns were studied in 203 Italian children hospitalized for community-acquired pneumonia in order to clarify the role of clinical and radiological characteristics in the diagnosis of Mycoplasma pneumoniae and/or Chlamydia pneumoniae infections. Antibody measurements in paired sera and polymerase chain reaction on nasopharyngeal aspirates were used to establish the diagnoses of acute. M. pneumoniae and C. pneumoniae infection, and the aetiologic data were correlated with the clinical, laboratory and radiographic data obtained on admission. No significant association was observed between evidence of M. pneumoniae and/or C. pne…
Are Morphological or Functional Changes in the Carotid Artery Wall Associated With Chlamydia pneumoniae, Helicobacter pylori, Cytomegalovirus, or Her…
2000
Background and Purpose —Chronic infection with Chlamydia pneumoniae , Helicobacter pylori , cytomegalovirus (CMV), and herpes simplex virus (HSV) has been implicated in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. The carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) can be taken to indicate early atherosclerosis, the presence of a carotid stenosis is a marker of a manifest carotid atherosclerosis, and an increase in arterial stiffness is used as marker of structural and functional changes in an atherosclerotic vessel wall. Methods —In 504 patients (75% men; mean age 62.9 [SD 10] years), we measured the IMT and the elastic pressure modulus (EP; n=445) of the common carotid artery and the prevalence of a intern…
Is chlamydial heat shock protein 60 a risk factor for oncogenesis?
2004
Heat shock protein 60 (HSP60) plays an important role in the protein folding of prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells. Most of the papers published on chlamydial HSP60 concern its role in immune response during infection. In the last decade, exposure to Chlamydia trachomatis has been consistently associated with the development of cervical and ovarian cancer. Moreover, it has been suggested that chlamydial HSP60 may have an anti- apoptotic effect during persistent infection. We hypothesize that the accumulation of exogenous chlamydial HSP60 in the cytoplasm of actively replicating eukaryotic cells may interfere with the regulation of the apoptotic pathway. The concomitant expression of viral onc…
Streptococcus agalactiae and Chlamydia trachomatis detection in women without symptoms of infection.
2020
Background Chlamydia trachomatis (C. trachomatis) and Streptococcus agalactiae (GBS) may be present in the female cervical canal without any symptoms of infection. Chronic chlamydial infections lead to many serious complications and perinatal infections, while the presence of GBS is a reservoir for infections of newborns or invasive streptococcal infection in adults. Objectives To examine healthy women for C. trachomatis without symptoms from the reproductive system, assess the frequency of asymptomatic infections, detect GBS in the cervical canal, demonstrate differences in drug susceptibility, and determine the serotype of S. agalactiae strains and correlations among the ones present in t…
A comparative analysis of the products of GROEL-1 gene fromChlamydia trachomatisserovar D and the HSP60 var1 transcript fromHomo sapienssuggests a po…
2009
Summary Chlamydia trachomatis serovar D produces large quantities of HSP60-1 during infections, which accumulate inside the host cell inducing autoimmunity. We compare the aminoacid sequences of the human HSP60 with the bacterial counterpart to better elucidate how CTHSP60 may simulate HSP60 from human origin during infection and may induce an autoimmune response. As a result of the comparison we suggest several possible epitopes of the CTHSP60, which may induce autoimmunity.
Chlamydia trachomatis Infection and Anti-Hsp60 Immunity: The Two Sides of the Coin
2009
Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) infection is one of the most common causes of reproductive tract diseases and infertility. CT-Hsp60 is synthesized during infection and is released in the bloodstream. As a consequence, immune cells will produce anti-CT-Hsp60 antibodies. Hsp60, a ubiquitous and evolutionarily conserved chaperonin, is normally sequestered inside the cell, particularly into mitochondria. However, upon cell stress, as well as during carcinogenesis, the chaperonin becomes exposed on the cell surface (sf-Hsp60) and/or is secreted from cells into the extracellular space and circulation. Reports in the literature on circulating Hsp and anti-Hsp antibodies are in many cases short on detai…