衣原体质粒的研究进展

衣原体质粒是一个分子量约为7.5 kb,基因序列高度保守,非整合性的DNA分子,广泛存在于沙眼衣原体的各个血清型中,鼠衣原体和鹦鹉热衣原体也携带该质粒.近年来,人们发现衣原体质粒是一种毒力因子,可以导致小鼠输卵管积水.动物实验显示质粒缺失株可作为减毒活疫苗来预防衣原体感染所致的生殖道和眼睛的病变.不仅如此,衣原体质粒还是一种有效的基因操纵工具,可用于沙眼衣原体致病机制的研究.因此,开展对衣原体质粒的研究具有重要的意义.

Research progress on Chlamydia plasmid

Chlamydia plasmid is a 7.5 kb, highly conserved, non-integrative DNA molecule present in almost all strains of Chlamydia trachomatis, as well as Chlamydia muridarum and Chlamydia psittaci. Recently, Chlamydia plasmid has been considered to be a virulence factor which contributes to mouse oviduct hydrosalpinx. Studies in animal models indicate that plasmid-deficient Chlamydia strains function as live attenuated vaccines against genital and ocular Chlamydia infections. Nevertheless, Chlamydia plasmid is also a potential genetic manipulation tool for revealing Chlamydia trachomatis pathogenic mechanism. Therefore, research on Chlamydia plasmid is very meaningful.