Chlamydia pneumoniae-induced memory CD4+ T cell activation in human peripheral blood correlates with distinct antibody response patterns.

Authors: Bunk S, Schaffert H, Schmid B, Goletz C, Zeller S, Borisova M, Kern F, Rupp J, Hermann C Chlamydia pneumoniae is a frequent pathogen of the respiratory tract and persistent infections with this obligate intracellular bacterium have been associated with different severe sequelae. Although T cell activation during acute C. pneumoniae infections has been described, little is known about the frequency and role of C. pneumoniae-specific memory T cells that reside in the human body after resolved infection. In the present study, C. pneumoniae-induced T cell responses in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of 56 healthy volunteers were analyzed and compared to the donor's serum antibody reactivity towards whole C. pneumoniae as well as recombinant C. pneumoniae antigens. Following sho...

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