Morrison R P, Lyng K, Caldwell H D
Rocky Mountain Laboratories, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Hamilton, Montana 59840.
J Exp Med. 1989 Mar 1;169(3):663-75. doi: 10.1084/jem.169.3.663.
Recurrent or persistent infections with Chlamydia trachomatis are thought to provide the antigenic stimulus for the chronic inflammation associated with blinding trachoma. We used the guinea pig model of inclusion conjunctivitis to identify chlamydial antigens that may be involved in this deleterious immune response. We purified from chlamydial elementary bodies a genus-specific 57-kD protein that elicited an ocular hypersensitivity response when placed topically onto the conjunctiva of ocular immune guinea pigs. This response was characterized by a predominantly mononuclear macrophage and lymphocyte cellular infiltrate of the submucosal epithelium. The clinical and histological findings were consistent with those of a delayed hypersensitivity response. These data demonstrated that the 57-kD chlamydial protein was a potent stimulator of ocular delayed hypersensitivity. Our findings may be critical to understanding the pathogenesis of the debilitating chlamydial diseases associated with chronic inflammation, such as trachoma and many urogenital syndromes.
沙眼衣原体的反复或持续感染被认为是与致盲性沙眼相关的慢性炎症的抗原刺激源。我们使用包涵体结膜炎的豚鼠模型来鉴定可能参与这种有害免疫反应的衣原体抗原。我们从衣原体原体中纯化出一种属特异性的57-kD蛋白，当将其局部置于眼部免疫豚鼠的结膜上时，会引发眼部超敏反应。这种反应的特征是黏膜下上皮主要有单核巨噬细胞和淋巴细胞浸润。临床和组织学发现与迟发型超敏反应一致。这些数据表明，57-kD衣原体蛋白是眼部迟发型超敏反应的有效刺激物。我们的发现对于理解与慢性炎症相关的衰弱性衣原体疾病（如沙眼和许多泌尿生殖系统综合征）的发病机制可能至关重要。
