TitleVesicular interactions of the Chlamydia trachomatis inclusion are determined by chlamydial early protein synthesis rather than route of entry.
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication1996
AuthorsScidmore, MA, Rockey, DD, Fischer, ER, Heinzen, RA, Hackstadt, T
JournalInfection and immunity
Volume64
Issue12
Pagination5366-72
Date Published1996 Dec
KeywordsElectron, Microscopy
Abstract

Chlamydiae replicate intracellularly within a vacuole that has recently been characterized as intersecting an exocytic pathway. One of the initial events during chlamydial infection is the expression of a chlamydial early gene product(s) that effectively isolates the inclusion from the endocytic-lysosomal pathway and makes it fusogenic with sphingomyelin-containing exocytic vesicles. Associated with this change in vesicular interaction is the delivery of the vacuole to the peri-Golgi region of the host cell. Inhibition of chlamydial early transcription or translation causes Chlamydia trachomatis-containing vesicles to remain dispersed throughout the cytoplasm, where they eventually fuse with lysosomes. Chlamydiae that have been internalized by Fc-mediated endocytosis also avoid lysosomal digestion by a mechanism that requires chlamydial protein synthesis. These results suggest that the vesicular interactions of the chlamydial inclusion are defined by parasite-directed modification of the endocytic vesicle rather than by the route of internalization.