Invariant and Diverse NKT Cells Regulate Bacterial Clearance and Pathology in Chlamydial Genital Tract Infection in Mice.

ABSTRACT: Chlamydia trachomatis infection causes pelvic inflammatory disease and infertility, but how host immune factors control pathogen clearance or pathology is not fully understood. Using a mouse model of genital tract infection with Chlamydia muridarum, we examined the role of CD1d-restricted Natural killer T (NKT) cells. Invariant NKT cell-deficient mice (Jα18^-/-) showed prolonged vaginal shedding of infectious elementary bodies (EBs), delayed clearance, and decreased early cytokine production compared to wild-type (WT) controls. Conversely, CD1d^-/- mice, which lack both invariant and diverse NKT cells, did not show significant differences in vaginal shedding compared to WT mice. Surprisingly, both NKT-deficient mice (Jα18^-/- and CD1d^-/-

SUBMITTER: Ishii K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12655205 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature