Abstract
The polymorphic membrane protein (Pmp) paralogous families of Chlamydia trachomatis, Chlamydia pneumoniae and Chlamydia abortus are putative targets for Chlamydia vaccine development. To determine whether this is also the case for Pmp family members of C. psittaci, we analyzed transcription levels, protein production and localization of several Pmps of C. psittaci. Pmp expression profiles were characterized using quantitative real-time PCR (RT-qPCR), immunofluorescence (IF) and immuno-electron microscopy (IEM) under normal and stress conditions. We found that PmpA was highly produced in all inclusions as early as 12 hpi in all biological replicates. In addition, PmpA and PmpH appeared to be unusually accessible to antibody as determined by both immunofluorescence and immuno-electron microscopy. Our results suggest an important role for these Pmps in the pathogenesis of C. psittaci, and make them promising candidates in vaccine development.
Highlights
The Chlamydiaceae are a family of Gram-negative obligate intracellular bacteria that infect animals and humans, causing diseases with a wide range of symptoms
We developed a hidden Markov model for the identification of the pmp coding sequences (CDSs) in the C. psittaci Cal10 genome
The number of pmp CDSs identified in the C. psittaci Cal10 genome differs from the 21 pmp CDSs that were doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0162392.g011
Summary
The Chlamydiaceae are a family of Gram-negative obligate intracellular bacteria that infect animals and humans, causing diseases with a wide range of symptoms. A significant species is C. psittaci that may cause respiratory disease in poultry and pet birds, and may cause zoonotic psittacosis in humans. Psittacosis, or parrot fever, is usually characterized by PLOS ONE | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0162392. Expression of C. psittaci Polymorphic Membrane Proteins fever chills, headache, dyspnea and cough. The disease seems to vary considerably in severity as the clinical features of the infection can range from none to sepsis with multi-organ failure requiring admission in an intensive-careunit [2]. Epidemics of C. psittaci infections in turkeys are economically devastating due to high mortality rates, carcass condemnation at slaughter, reduced egg production and/or the cost of antibiotic treatment to reduce mortality and allow marketing of turkeys [3]
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