Human conjunctival transcriptome analysis reveals the prominence of innate defense in Chlamydia trachomatis infection.

ABSTRACT: Trachoma is the leading infectious cause of blindness and is endemic in 52 countries. There is a critical need to further our understanding of the host response during disease and infection, as millions of individuals are still at risk of developing blinding sequelae. Infection of the conjunctival epithelial cells by the causative bacterium, Chlamydia trachomatis, stimulates an acute host response. The main clinical feature is a follicular conjunctivitis that is incompletely defined at the tissue-specific gene expression and molecular levels. To explore the features of disease and the response to infection, we measured host gene expression in conjunctival samples from Gambian children with active trachoma and healthy controls. Genome-wide expression and transcription network analysis ident

SUBMITTER: Natividad A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2976339 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature