Chlamydia persistence: A survival strategy to evade antimicrobial effects in-vitro and in-vivo

PANZETTA, MARIA EMILIA; VALDIVIA, RAPHAEL H.; SAKA, HECTOR ALEX (CORRESPONDING AUTHOR)

Frontiers in Microbiology

Frontiers Media S.A.

Lugar: Amsterdam; Año: 2018 vol. 9

he Chlamydiaceae comprise a group of highly adapted bacterial pathogens sharing a unique intracellular lifestyle. Three Chlamydia species are pathogenic to humans: Chlamydia trachomatis, Chlamydia pneumoniae, and Chlamydia psittaci. C. trachomatis is the leading bacterial cause of sexually-transmitted infections and infectious blindness worldwide. Chlamydia pneumoniae is a major cause of community-acquired atypical pneumonia. C. psittaci primarily affects psittacine birds and can be transmitted to humans causing psittacosis, a potentially fatal form of pneumonia. As opposed to other bacterial pathogens, the spread of clinically relevant antimicrobial resistance genes does not seem to be a major problem for the treatment of Chlamydia infections. However, when exposed to stressing conditions, like those arising from exposure to antimicrobial stimuli, these bacteria undergo a temporary interruption in their replication cycle and enter a viable but non-cultivable state known as persistenc