Department of Clinical Laboratory, Shanghai Seventh People's Hospital , Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, 200199, China.
Department of Clinical Laboratory, Shanghai Zhabei Central Hospital, Shanghai, 200070, China.
BMC Infect Dis. 2024 Feb 20;24(1):229. doi: 10.1186/s12879-024-09094-6.
Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) is the most common sexually transmitted infections globally, and CT infection can enhance HPV persistence. Epidemiological analysis has shown that patients with CT/HPV coinfection have a higher risk of developing cervical cancer and exhibit more rapid progression to cervical cancer than patients with HPV infection alone. However, the mechanism has not been fully elucidated. Here, we report that CT infection supports HPV persistence by further suppressing the functions of Langerhans cells (LCs); in particular, CT further activates the PI3K pathway and inhibits the MAPK pathways in LCs, and these pathways are frequently involved in the regulation of immune responses. CT/HPV coinfection also impairs LC functions by reducing the antigen-presenting ability and density of LCs. Moreover, CT/HPV coinfection can alter T-cell subsets, resulting in fewer CD4 + and CD8 + T cells and more infiltrating Tregs. Moreover, CT/HPV coinfection decreases the CD4 + /CD8 + T cell ratio to below 1, coinfection also induces greater T lymphocytes' apoptosis than HPV infection, thus impairing cell-mediated immunity and accelerating the progress to cervical cancer.
沙眼衣原体（CT）是全球最常见的性传播感染病原体，CT 感染可增强 HPV 的持续性。流行病学分析表明，CT/HPV 双重感染患者发生宫颈癌的风险更高，且比 HPV 单一感染患者进展为宫颈癌的速度更快。然而，其具体机制尚未完全阐明。本研究报道 CT 感染通过进一步抑制朗格汉斯细胞（LCs）的功能来支持 HPV 的持续性；特别是 CT 进一步激活了 LCs 中的 PI3K 通路并抑制了 MAPK 通路，这些通路通常参与免疫反应的调节。CT/HPV 双重感染还通过降低 LCs 的抗原呈递能力和密度来损害 LCs 的功能。此外，CT/HPV 双重感染可改变 T 细胞亚群，导致 CD4+和 CD8+T 细胞减少，而浸润性 Tregs 增加。此外，CT/HPV 双重感染使 CD4+/CD8+T 细胞比值降至 1 以下，双重感染还诱导比 HPV 感染更多的 T 淋巴细胞凋亡，从而损害细胞介导的免疫并加速向宫颈癌的进展。
