Maternal immunity partially protects newborn mice against a Chlamydia trachomatis intranasal challenge.

ABSTRACT: To determine the role of maternal immunity in protecting newborn mice against a Chlamydia trachomatis infection, female BALB/c mice were immunized intranasally (i.n.) with 10⁴ inclusion forming units (IFU) of the C. trachomatis mouse pneumonitis biovar (MoPn). As a control, another group of female mice was sham-immunized i.n. with HeLa cell extracts. Immunized animals mounted strong immune responses as evidenced by high Chlamydia-specific antibody titers in serum and milk. Newborn mice born from immunized and sham-immunized dams were challenged i.n. with 10³IFU of MoPn at two post-natal days (PND). Following inoculation, newborn mice were euthanized at 7- and 18-PND and the lungs, spleen and intestine were cultured for Chlamydia. Overall, no significant differences were observed between th

SUBMITTER: Pal S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2949516 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature