Susceptibility of prostate epithelial cells to Chlamydia muridarum infection and their role in innate immunity by recruitment of intracellular Toll-like receptors 4 and 2 and MyD88 to the inclusion.

MACKERN-OBERTI JP, MACCIONI M, CUFFINI C, GATTI G, RIVERO VE.

INFECTION AND IMMUNITY

Año: 2006 vol. 74 p. 6973 - 6973

0019-9567

lthough Chlamydia infections are widespread throughout the world, data about immunopathogenesis of genitourinary tract infections in males are very limited. In the present work we present an in vitro model of male genital tract-derived epithelial cells, more precisely prostate epithelial cells (PEC), to analyze if they are susceptible and able to respond to Chlamydia muridarum infection. Our results demonstrate that rat PEC are susceptible to C. muridarum infection and respond to this pathogen by up-regulating different proinflammatory cytokine and chemokine genes that could participate in the recruitment and local activation of immune cells, therefore influencing innate and adaptive immune responses during Chlamydia infection. Moreover, we analyzed the expression of Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), TLR2, and related molecules on PEC and the effect of C. muridarum infection on their expression. Our results demonstrate that PEC express significant levels of TLR4, CD14, TLR2, and the adapto