Humoral Immune Response to Conserved Epitopes ofChlamydia trachomatisand Human 60‐kDa Heat‐Shock Protein in Women with Pelvic Inflammatory Disease

Abstract

The association between humoral immunity to unique and conserved epitopes of the Chlamydia trachomatis 60-kDa heat-shock protein (hsp60) and immunity to human hsp60 was examined in 129 women with laparoscopically verified pelvic inflammatory disease. An ELISA was used to detect antichlamydial IgG and IgA antibodies, IgG antibodies to recombinant human hsp60, and antibodies to two synthetic peptides of chlamydial hsp60. Half of the patients had antibodies to human hsp60, which correlated with the presence of antibodies to the chlamydial hsp60 peptide 260-271 homologous to the human hsp60 (P = .01). Antibodies to peptide 260-271 were associated with antichlamydial IgG (P < .0001) and IgA (P < .0001). The results suggest that the autoimmune response to human hsp60 can develop following C. trachomatis upper genital tract infection in women, probably as a consequence of an immune response to an epitope of chlamydial hsp60 cross-reactive with the human hsp60.

The Role of Chlamydia trachomatis in Male Infertility

“…Since the amino acid homology between many microbial HSP (e.g. chlamydial HSP-60) and the human 60 kDa HSP is high, the development of an autoimmune response to the human HSP-60 in susceptible individuals with chronic infections has been suggested [47][48][49]. According to one study, HSP-60 was present in a soluble form in semen primarily in men with evidence of immune system activation within their genital tract, and this presence correlated with the occurrence of antichlamydial immunoglobulin-A (IgA) [50].…”

Pelvic inflammatory disease

“…However, with recurrent chlamydial infection, after priming by the initial episode of PID the degree of tubal damage may be greater, possibly mediated by a cross-reaction between chlamydial hsp60 and human hsp60. 18 The inflammation may cause occlusion of the tubal lumen and, with tissue repair, scarring. Tubo-ovarian abscess formation is a late manifestation but neither N. gonorrhoeae nor C. trachomatis produces this; anaerobic bacteria dominate in these infections.…”

Role of persistent infection in the control and severity of asthma: focus on Chlamydia pneumoniae

“…Elevated antibody levels to chlamydial hsp60 have been shown to be associated with scarring trachoma [62], pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) [63][64][65] and tubal factor infertility [66]. Recently, a role for chlamydial hsp60 in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis has also been proposed [67,68].…”