All Chlamydia species are obligate intracellular bacteria that undergo a unique biphasic developmental cycle strictly in the lumen of a membrane bound compartment, the inclusion. Chlamydia specific Type III secreted effectors, known as inclusion membrane proteins (Inc), are embedded into the inclusion membrane. Progression through the developmental cycle, in particular early events of conversion from infectious (EB) to replicative (RB) bacteria, is important for intracellular replication, but poorly understood. Here, we identified the inclusion membrane protein IncS as a critical factor for Chlamydia development. We show that a C. trachomatis conditional mutant is impaired in transition from EB to RB in human cells, and C. muridarum mutant bacteria fail to develop in a mouse model of Chlamydia infection. Thus, IncS represents a promising target for therapeutic intervention of the leading cause of sexually transmitted infections of bacterial origin.
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机译：所有衣原体物种都是专性细胞内细菌，它们严格在膜结合隔室（包涵体）的管腔中经历独特的双相发育周期。衣原体特异性 III 型分泌效应子，称为包涵膜蛋白 （Inc），嵌入包涵膜中。发育周期的进展，特别是从感染性 （EB） 转化为复制性 （RB） 细菌的早期事件，对于细胞内复制很重要，但知之甚少。在这里，我们确定包涵膜蛋白 IncS 是衣原体发育的关键因素。我们表明，沙眼衣原体条件突变体在人类细胞中从 EB 到 RB 的转变中受损，并且 C. muridarum 突变细菌在衣原体感染的小鼠模型中无法发育。因此，IncS 代表了对细菌来源性传播感染的主要原因进行治疗干预的有前途的目标。
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