Male genital tract immune response against Chlamydia trachomatis infection

Abstract

is the most commonly reported agent of sexually transmitted bacterial infections worldwide. This pathogen frequently leads to persistent, long-term, subclinical infections, which in turn may cause severe pathology in susceptible hosts. This is in part due to the strategies that uses to survive within epithelial cells and to evade the host immune response, such as subverting intracellular trafficking, interfering signaling pathways and preventing apoptosis. Innate immune receptors such as toll-like receptors expressed on epithelial and immune cells in the genital tract mediate the recognition of chlamydial molecular patterns. After bacterial recognition, a subset of pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines are continuously released by epithelial cells. The innate immune response is followed by the initiation of the adaptive response against, which in turn may result in T helper 1-mediated protection or in T helper 2-mediated immunopathology. Understanding the molecular mechanisms developed by to avoid killing and host immune response would be crucial for designing new therapeutic approaches and developing protective vaccines. In this review, we focus on chlamydial survival strategies and the elicited immune responses in male genital tract infections.

Long-term consequences of sexually transmitted infections on men’s sexual function: A systematic review

“…As chlamydial infections are the most prevalent sexually transmitted disease, as expected, the majority (n= 20) of the articles dealt with Chlamydia trachomatis or related pathogens, followed by Neisseria gonorrhoeae (n = 7), Mycoplasma spp. While most of the articles discuss the general effects of sexually transmitted male genital tract infections, only five articles [10][11][12][13][14] dealt with the long-lasting effects of the infection. Three of these articles discussed chlamydial infections [12][13][14] and two various viruses [10,11].…”

“…While most of the articles discuss the general effects of sexually transmitted male genital tract infections, only five articles [10][11][12][13][14] dealt with the long-lasting effects of the infection. Three of these articles discussed chlamydial infections [12][13][14] and two various viruses [10,11]. In the male, depending on the pathogen, the health issues reported ranged from chronic prostatitis, vesiculitis or epididymo-orchitis, leading to hormonal imbalances and testicular dysfunction, with disturbed spermatogenesis eventually resulting in temporary or permanent infertility.…”

“…While early articles rather discussed the sites of infection, the type of disease and the relevant treatment options, they did not elaborate on long-term effects and the consequences of the infection. Only more recent articles discussed long-term effects such as the development of immunity due to bacterial infections specifically with C. trachomatis [8,12,[15][16][17], which might be a reason why a high percentage of patients are asymptomatic and it is difficult to diagnose this infection, the effects of these viruses on the male reproductive system are investigated. Moreover, as a result of the 2016/2017 infection wave in Brazil and the USA with the ZIKV [8], and even more so because of the current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic [18], articles elaborated on the immune response to these viral infections.…”

Insights into innate immune cell evasion by Chlamydia trachomatis

“…In addition to trachoma, inclusion conjunctivitis, and infantile pneumonia(serovars A to C), it also causes more serious genitourinary tract infections(serovars D to K) and lymphogranuloma venereum(serovars L). The former is highly curable and can be treated with large-scale azithromycin ( 2 ), while the latter is insidious and chronic both in men and women ( 3 ). Although sensitive to antibiotics, their therapeutic benefit is limited mainly because of silent (asymptomatic) and recurrent infections attributable to immune evasion and the development of partial immunity from these infections.…”

Chlamydia trachomatis infection of the male genital tract

“…In several studies, it has been demonstrated that elevated concentrations of such cytokines have been closely correlated with impaired semen parameters and, in particular – with disturbed DNA integrity. 4 5 Bacterial infections may disturb male fertility by different mechanisms. Acute infection can lead to structural defects of spermatozoa, and thus interfere with important sperm functions like motility, sperm-egg-binding, or DNA integrity, amongst others.…”