The multiple functions of the numerous Chlamydia trachomatis secreted proteins: the tip of the iceberg
Authors:Joana N. Bugalhão1 and Luís Jaime Mota1
doi: 10.15698/mic2019.09.691
Volume 6, pp. 414 to 449, published 21/08/2019.
1 UCIBIO, Departamento de Ciências da Vida, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, Caparica, Portugal.
Keywords:
host-pathogen interactions, Chlamydia trachomatis, protein secretion, type III secretion, effectors.
Corresponding Author(s):
Conflict of interest statement:
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Please cite this article as:
Joana N. Bugalhão and Luís Jaime Mota (2019). The mul-tiple functions of the numerous Chlamydia trachomatis secreted proteins: the tip of the iceberg. Microbial Cell 6(9): 414-449. doi: 10.15698/mic2019.09.691
© 2019 Bugalhão and Mota. This is an open-access article released under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license, which allows the unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduc-tion in any medium, provided the original author and source are acknowledged.
Abstract:
Chlamydia trachomatis serovars are obligate intracellular bacterial pathogens mainly causing ocular and urogenital infections that affect millions of people worldwide and which can lead to blindness or sterility. They reside and multiply intracellularly within a membrane-bound vacuolar compartment, known as inclusion, and are characterized by a developmental cycle involving two morphologically and physiologically distinct chlamydial forms. Completion of the developmental cycle involves the secretion of > 70 C. trachomatis proteins that function in the host cell cytoplasm and nucleus, in the inclusion membrane and lumen, and in the extracellular milieu. These proteins can, for example, interfere with the host cell cytoskeleton, vesicular and non-vesicular transport, metabolism, and immune signalling. Generally, this promotes C. trachomatis invasion into, and escape from, host cells, the acquisition of nutrients by the chlamydiae, and evasion of cell-autonomous, humoral and cellular innate immunity. Here, we present an in-depth review on the current knowledge and outstanding questions about these C. trachomatis secreted proteins.