Chlamydia trachomatis

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Chlamydia trachomatis

C. trachomatis is an obligate, aerobic, intracellular parasite of eukaryotic cells. It is a Gram-negative bacteria and has a coccoid or rod shape. It has a cytoplasmic membrane and outer membrane similar to Gram-negative bacteria (thus, it being classified as Gram-negative) but, it lacks a peptidoglycan cell wall. C. trachomatis require growing cells in order to remain viable since it cannot synthesize its own ATP. Without a host organism, C. trachomatis cannot survive on its own.

C. trachomatis is the leading cause of sexually transmitted disease worldwide--in the United States, alone, over 4 million cases are diagnosed each year. It is also the leading cause of preventable blindness (caused by a chlamydia infection called trachoma) in the world. C. trachomatis is also one of the major causes of pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) and infertility in women.

It is important to understand and sequence the genome of C. trachomatis because it would help us better understand its functions as a pathogen--the properties that allow it to live within its human host and its virulence and biological capabilities as a pathogen. Thus, an effort has been made to sequence most of the C. trachomatis genome

[edit] Surface Characteristics

The surface consists of specific LPS structures. The LPS is composed of the pentasaccharide bisphosphate αKdo-(2-8)-αKdo-(2-->4)-αKdo-(2-6)-βGlcN-4P-(1-->6) αGlcN-1P (Kdo is 3-deoxy-α-d-manno-oct-2-ulosonic acid.;

[edit] Pathogenic Activity

Chlamydia trachomatis is a pathogenic bacteria. It cannot survive outside of a eukaryotic host. In fact, humans are the only known natural host for C. trachomatis. The bacterium is transmitted by sexual contact with an infected individual.

Usually, C. trachomatis is asymptomatic in its hosts, but can cause discharge from the penis, pain and burning during urination,infection or inflammation in the ducts of testicles, and tenderness or pain in the testicles

[edit] Virulence

Chlamydiae replicate intracellularly in what is called an inclusion--a membrane bound structure. This inclusion is able to avoid lysosomal fusion and degradation. Thus, the metabolically inactive elementary body form of chlamydia is able to become the reticulate body. The multiplying reticulate bodies then become elementary bodies again and burst out of the host cell to continue the infection cycle. Since Chlamydiae are obligate intracellular parasites, they cannot be cultured outside of host cells, leading to many difficulties in research.

Chlamydia is transmitted through infected secretions only. It infects mainly mucosal membranes, such as the cervix, rectum, urethra, throat, and conjunctiva. It is primarily spread via sexual contact and manifests as the sexually transmitted disease. The bacterium is not easily spread among women, so the STD is mainly transmitted by heterosexual or male homosexual contact. However, infected secretions from the genitals to the hands and eventually to the eyes can cause trachoma

[edit] References

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