Project description:Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are commonly reported among HIV-1 infected patients. The increasing prevalence of the most common STI, Chlamydia trachomatis (CT), among HIV-1 infected people suggests a role in HIV-1 infectivity. However, the mechanisms modulating the enhancement of HIV-1 infectivity during HIV-1/STIs coinfection remain elusive. The stimulation of CD4 T cells during CT infection may modulate the expression of specific genes, which in turn enhance the susceptibility and infectivity of CT-specific CD4 T cells to HIV-1 infection. After three days of CT stimulation of PBMCs followed by 3 days of HIV-1 infection, we observed a significant increase in HIV-1 p24 levels among clinically diagnosed C. trachomatis-infected patients as compared to cells from healthy donors. Similarly, ex vivo CT antigen-stimulated PBMCs from healthy donors showed enhanced susceptibility to HIV-1 as compared to unstimulated PBMCs. CT-specific CD4 T cells also harbour more HIV-1 copy numbers as compared to healthy unstimulated CD4 T cells. RNA-seq data revealed the upregulation of CCR chemokine receptors and cytokines in CD4 T cells from CT-stimulated CD4 T cells infected with HIV-1.
Project description:In this project we examined the in-vitro effect of female sex hormones (estradiol and progesterone at average physiological concentrations) during a infection mediated by Chlamydia trachomatis serovar D, on the gene expression of human endometrial cell line ECC-1 The effects of the female sex hormones progesterone and oestradiol while infected by Chlamydia trachomatis were examined at two timepoints.
Project description:Chlamydia trachomatis is the most common sexually transmitted infection and the bacterial agent of trachoma globally. C. trachomatis undergoes a biphasic developmental cycle involving an infectious elementary body and a replicative reticulate body. Little is currently known about the expression of host cell mRNAs, lncRNAs, and miRNAs at different stages of C. trachomatis development. Here, we performed RNA-seq and miR-seq on HeLa cells infected with C. trachomatis serovar E at 20 hpi and 44 hpi with or without IFN-γ treatment. Our study identified and validated differentially expressed host cell mRNAs, lncRNAs, and miRNAs during infection. Infection at 20 hpi showed the most differential upregulation of both coding and non-coding genes while infection at 44 hpi in the presence of IFN-γ resulted in a dramatic downregulation of a large proportion of genes. Using RT-qPCR, we validated the top 5 stage-specific upregulated mRNAs and miRNAs. One of the commonly expressed miRNAs at all three stages, miR-193b-5p, showed significant expression in clinical serum samples of C. trachomatis-infected patients as compared to sera from healthy controls and HIV-1-infected patients. Furthermore, at 20 hpi we observed significant upregulation of antigen processing and presentation, and T helper cell differentiation pathways whereas T cell receptor, mTOR, and Rap1 pathways were modulated at 44 hpi. Treatment with IFN-γ at 44 hpi showed the regulation of cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction, FoxO signaling, and Ras signaling pathways. Our study documents a role for the stage-specific transcriptional manipulation of the host cell genome and important signaling pathways that are necessary for the survival of pathogen and could serve as potential biomarkers in the diagnosis and management of the disease.
Project description:In this project we examined the in-vitro effect of female sex hormones (estradiol and progesterone at average physiological concentrations) during a infection mediated by Chlamydia trachomatis serovar D, on the gene expression of human endometrial cell line ECC-1
Project description:Chlamydia trachomatis (C. trachomatis) is an intracellular bacterium, and is one of the main pathogens that cause sexually transmitted infections worldwide. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have become vital regulators in many biological processes. However, few studies have shown that lncRNAs take part in the pathogenesis of C. trachomatis. Here, we used microarrays to study the expression profiles of lncRNAs and mRNAs in HeLa cells at 12, 24, and 40 hours pot-infection (hpi). Our study provides evidence that lncRNAs are involved in the interaction between C. trachomatis and hosts.
Project description:Here we examined host cell gene expression in response to Chlamydia trachomatis infection by applying scRNA-Seq to in vitro C. trachomatis-infected HEp-2 epithelial cells and time-matched uninfected cells over the early chlamydial developmental cycle (3, 6 and 12 hours). We collected 264 single cells across both conditions all time points. The aims of the experiment were examining host cell responses to infection at single cell resolution, and identifying early host cell signatures of infection.
Project description:The aim of this study was to perform a microarray analysis of the response pattern of EEC from both large and small bowel to infection in vitro, using Chlamydia trachomatis infection as a model. Two human EEC lines: LCC-18, derived from a neuroendocrine colonic tumour, and CNDT-2, derived from a small intestinal carcinoid, were infected with C. trachomatis serovar LGV II strain 434 (ATCC VR-902B). Penicillin G was used to induce persistent infection. Gene expression levels in infected and persistently infected EEC cells were investigated by microarray analysis