A link between neutrophils and chronic disease manifestations of Chlamydia muridarum urogenital infection of mice

Vigorous acute inflammatory responses accompany Chlamydia muridarum infections in mice and are positively correlated with adverse urogenital and respiratory tract infection outcomes in the mouse model. Thus, we tested the hypothesis that neutrophils induce an acute inflammatory insult that, in the repair phase, leads to the chronic sequelae of hydrosalpinx [ndash] a surrogate marker of infertility in the mouse model. To this end, we induced neutropenia in mice using a neutrophil-depleting monoclonal antibody during acute phases of C. muridarum urogenital infection only (days 2[ndash]21 postinfection). To prove induced neutropenia, peripheral blood was monitored for neutrophils during the treatment regimen. Neutropenic mice had a similar infection course as control mice, but had significant...

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