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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2014 May 5.
Published in final edited form as: Future Microbiol. 2013 Sep;8(9):1129–1146. doi: 10.2217/fmb.13.80

Figure 5. Contribution of host factors to Chlamydia trachomatis disease severity.

Figure 5

Influence of genetic variation in host epithelial and immune cells on Chlamydia trachomatis infection and potential TFI induction. (A) Specific HLA*DQ alleles are correlated to TFI induction. (B) TFI patients carry an IL-10 promoter polymorphism. Cells from these individuals tend to produce less IL-10, more IFNγ and more TNF-α when leukocytes are stimulated in vitro. (C) IFN-γ induces IDO, which degrades tryptophan, an essential amino acid for both Chlamydia and the host cell. This may lead to dampening of the immune system, from a productive to a nonproductive chlamydial growth phenotype, which has been suggested to be associated with chronic infection and increased disease severity. IDO: Indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase; TFI: Tubal factor infertility.