Examination of an Inducible Expression System for Limiting Iron Availability During Chlamydia Trachomatis Infection
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
7-1-2007
Description
The obligate intracellular bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis requires iron in order to complete its developmental cycle. Addition of an iron-chelating drug, Desferal (deferoxamine mesylate), to infected cell culture causes Chlamydia to enter persistence. Here, we explore the ability of a stably-transfected cell line with inducible over-expression of the eukaryotic iron efflux protein ferroportin to starve C. trachomatis serovar E for iron. Ferroportin-induced iron removal is perhaps a more direct method of removing iron from the intracellular compartment versus exposure to an exogenous chemical chelator. Following induction, ferroportin-green fluorescent protein (Fpn-GFP) was detected in the plasma membrane, and cells expressing Fpn-GFP remained viable throughout the timescale required for Chlamydia to complete its developmental cycle. Following Fpn-GFP induction in infected cells, chlamydial infectivity remained unchanged, indicating chlamydiae were not in persistence. Ferritin levels indicate only a small decrease in cellular iron following Fpn-GFP expression relative to cultures exposed to Desferal. These data indicate that expression of Fpn-GFP in chlamydiae-infected cells is not capable of reducing iron below the threshold concentration needed to cause chlamydiae to enter persistence.
Citation Information
Dill, Brian D.; and Raulston, Jane E.. 2007. Examination of an Inducible Expression System for Limiting Iron Availability During Chlamydia Trachomatis Infection. Microbes and Infection. Vol.9(8). 947-953. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.micinf.2007.03.017 PMID: 17544798 ISSN: 1286-4579