Reactive (inflammatory) arthritis has been known for many years to follow genital infection with the intracellular bacterial pathogen Chlamydia trachomatis in some individuals. Recent studies from several groups have demonstrated that a related bacterium, the respiratory pathogen Chlamydia pneumoniae, can elicit a similar arthritis. Studies of these organisms, and of a set of gastrointestinal p...

Chlamydiae are obligate intracellular pathogens that likely require type III secretion (T3S) to invade cells and replicate intracellularly within a cytoplasmic vacuole called an inclusion body. Chlamydia pneumoniae possess a YscL ortholog, CdsL, that has been shown to interact with the T3S ATPase (CdsN). In this report we demonstrate that CdsL down-regulates CdsN enzymatic activity in a dose-de...

The accuracy of single serovar (L2) inclusion immunoperoxidase assay (IPA) to show serum IgG and IgA antibodies specific to chlamydiae was compared with culture for Chlamydia trachomatis to diagnose chlamydial infection in 73 men with acute urethritis. C trachomatis only was isolated from 18 (25%), Neisseria gonorrhoeae only from 17 (23%), and both organisms from six (8%). Thus 24 (33%) yielded...

Background—Recent evidence has implicated Chlamydia pneumoniae in the aggravation of atherosclerosis. However, the mechanisms by which this agent affects atherogenesis remain poorly understood. Chlamydiae produce large amounts of heat shock protein 60 (HSP 60) during chronic, persistent infections, and C pneumoniae localizes predominantly within plaque macrophages. Several studies have furnishe...

BACKGROUND Recent evidence has implicated Chlamydia pneumoniae in the aggravation of atherosclerosis. However, the mechanisms by which this agent affects atherogenesis remain poorly understood. Chlamydiae produce large amounts of heat shock protein 60 (HSP 60) during chronic, persistent infections, and C pneumoniae localizes predominantly within plaque macrophages. Several studies have furnishe...

All known chlamydiae are either proven human or animal pathogens or possess such potential. Due to increasing reports of chlamydiae diversity in the environment, it is important to develop reliable means for identifying and characterizing Chlamydiales species. The identification of environmental chlamydiae at present relies on their branching pattern in 16S rRNA trees, as well as 16S/23S consen...

The question as to the origin and relationship between the three domains of life is lodged in a phylogenetic impasse. The dominant paradigm is to see the three domains as separated. However, the recently characterized bacterial species have suggested continuity between the three domains. Here, we review the evidence in support of this hypothesis and evaluate the implications for and against the...

Chlamydiae exhibit low interspecies DNA homology and plasmids from different chlamydial species can be readily distinguished by Southern blot analysis and restriction enzyme profiling. In contrast, available plasmid sequence data from within the species Chlamydia trachomatis indicate that plasmids from human isolates are highly conserved. To evaluate the nature and extent of plasmid variation, ...