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Chlamydia trachomatis Pathogenicity and Disease (Third Edition)

A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Pathology, Diagnostics, and Therapeutics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 May 2026 | Viewed by 983

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Guest Editor
Dipartimento di Sanità Pubblica e Malattie Infettive, Università degli Studi di Roma La Sapienza, Rome, Italy
Interests: clinical microbiology; Chlamydia; bacterial pathogenesis; pathogen-host interactions; infection and cardiovascular diseases; cervicovaginal microbiota;biofilm; in vitro susceptibility testing; antibacterial agents
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Chlamydia trachomatis, responsible for genital infection, trachoma, and lymphogranuloma venereum, according to the specific serotype, is still a relevant public health problem worldwide due to the high prevalence of asymptomatic infections in both women and men, favoring the onset of chronic complications, such as pelvic inflammatory disease and ectopic pregnancy for women, epididymitis and proctitis for men, and reactive arthritis and infertility for both sexes. These complications are likely due to the long-term persistence of C. trachomatis infection in the host organism, leading to a chronic inflammatory state and consequent tissue damage.

To date, many critical questions on the pathogenesis of C. trachomatis infection remain to be answered. For example, the nature of the host innate immune response to C. trachomatis, as well as the virulence factors involved, warrants further investigation to clarify the molecular and cellular mechanisms responsible for tissue damage associated with chlamydial infection.

To shed light on the etiopathogenesis and host cell response mechanisms of damaging C. trachomatis infection, this Special Issue covers current progress in chlamydial infection pathogenesis and related diseases.

Dr. Rosa Sessa
Dr. Marisa Di Pietro
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • Chlamydia trachomatis
  • virulence factors
  • host susceptibility or resistance
  • innate and adaptive immune responses
  • genetic studies
  • cervico-vaginal microbiota
  • clinical outcomes with molecular study

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Review

15 pages, 1216 KB  
Review
Anti-Chlamydia trachomatis Host Defence Arsenal Within the Cervicovaginal Environment
by Simone Filardo, Giulia Chicarella, Rosa Sessa and Marisa Di Pietro
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2026, 27(2), 1115; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms27021115 - 22 Jan 2026
Viewed by 514
Abstract
Chlamydia trachomatis has a significant impact on public health, especially among adolescents and young women; it primarily affects urogenital epithelial cells, leading to cervicitis and urethritis, with >90% of cases showing no symptoms. Consequently, chlamydial infections are commonly misdiagnosed, and, if untreated, they [...] Read more.
Chlamydia trachomatis has a significant impact on public health, especially among adolescents and young women; it primarily affects urogenital epithelial cells, leading to cervicitis and urethritis, with >90% of cases showing no symptoms. Consequently, chlamydial infections are commonly misdiagnosed, and, if untreated, they may result in severe reproductive sequelae including infertility. A better understanding of C. trachomatis cell biology and bacterial–host cell interactions may be helpful to identify strategies able to counter its transmission among the population, as well as its dissemination in reproductive tissues, reducing the risk of developing severe reproductive sequelae. Therefore, the present review aims to summarize the evidence on the interplay between C. trachomatis and the host defence factors within the cervicovaginal environment. The sophisticated strategies employed by this clinically significant pathogen to counteract these mechanisms are also discussed. In the literature, the main defence factors include the microbiota dominated by Lactobacillus crispatus and several molecules like lactoferrin, able to protect the cervicovaginal microenvironment against C. trachomatis through several mechanisms (e.g., EB coaggregation and competitive exclusion, as well as anti-inflammatory activity). However, the major player in clearing chlamydial infections remains the interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) produced by natural killer and T cells, via the depletion of critical nutrients for C. trachomatis such as tryptophan, or via the ubiquitylation and destruction of chlamydial inclusions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Chlamydia trachomatis Pathogenicity and Disease (Third Edition))
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