Cell-mediated immune response to the recombinant 57-kDa heat-shock protein of Chlamydia trachomatis in women with salpingitis.

Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from 9 of 18 women with laparoscopy-verified salpingitis proliferated in response to recombinant Chlamydia trachomatis 57-kDa heat shock protein (hsp). In contrast, PBMC from 0 of 10 women with cervicitis, 1 of 5 women with recurrent abortions, and 3 (7.1%) of 42 healthy reproductive-age women were responsive to hsp (P < .001). After passage of the hsp through an endotoxin-removing column, PBMC from 6 of 14 additional women with salpingitis were responsive to hsp, while those from 10 controls, including the 3 previously positive women, were negative. PBMC from all patients responsive to the chlamydial hsp were unresponsive to Mycobacterium bovis 65-kDa hsp. PBMC from 6 of the 15 women with a positive hsp-induced lymphocyte response were unresponsive to C. trachomatis elementary bodies. Induction of a cell-mediated immune response to the chlamydial 57-kDa hsp is a common feature of an upper genital tract infection but does not appear to be limited to women with apparent chlamydial infections.