Perspective: my 37 year journey through Chlamydia research: Chlamydia antigen analysis using monoclonal antibodies and major histocompatibility complex molecules.

Chlamydia antigen analysis enables understanding of disease pathogenesis, facilitates development of diagnostic immunoassays and is essential to the design of a subunit Chlamydia trachomatis vaccine. Using an autobiographical narrative, I review over three decades of antigen analysis research findings coming from my research laboratory and provide an outlook to the broader field of Chlamydia seroepidemiology and vaccinology. Based on the experiences of my scientific career I conclude with thoughts for young scientists newly entering the Chlamydia research field.

A historical note on the association between the legal status of expedited partner therapy and physician practice.

Potential legal liability for practicing expedited partner therapy is a common concern among providers, although it has been uncertain how these concerns translate into clinical practice. This study suggests that providers are more likely to practice expedited partner therapy in more favorable legal environments.

From disease to etiology: historical aspects of Chlamydia-related diseases in animals and humans.

A first description of the etiology of trachoma was published in 1907. During expeditions to Java to study the transmission of syphilis, Halberstaedter and von Prowazek infected orangutans with conjunctival scrapings from trachoma patients and such agents in conjunctival smears. They called them "chlamydozoa". J. Ritter in 1879 published the first case description of psittacosis, describing a mini-epidemic in which three of seven patients died, and identified the source of infection, determined the incubation period and the nontransmissibility of the disease from human to human. In 1895 the term psittacosis was first applied. In 1893, Nocard isolated a Gram-negative bacterium from parrots dying of psittacosis (Bacillus psittacosis). This organism was subsequently found in human or avian subjects and was later diagnosed as Salmonella. The inconsistent bacteriological findings prompted a search for a filterable virus during the pandemic of 1929-1930. Almost simultaneously, Levinthal (1930), Coles (1930) and Lillie (1930) described small, filterable bodies in infectious material called "Levinthal-Coles-Lillie (L.C.L.) bodies". Bedson first suggested the biphasic development cycle in 1932 after having studied tissues from inoculated mice. In 1935, Burnet and Rountree propagated "the virus" on the chorioallantoic membrane of embryonated chicken.

[Morphological aspects of atherosclerosis lesion: past and present]. / Aspetti morfologici della lesione ateromasica tra passato e presente.

Atherosclerosis is an inflammatory process disease that involves the artery wall and that is characterized by the progressive accumulation of lipids. The term arteriosclerosis has been created by Lobstein in 1833. Subsequently, during the 19th century, the contribution of Rokitansky and Virchow was important to elucidate the pathogenesis of arteriosclerosis and the morphologic aspects of the plaque. In the beginning of the 20th century, Aschoff was a leading proponent who regarded the morphologically different intimal lipid deposits of children and adults as early and late stages of one disease and he called them atherosis and atherosclerosis, respectively. The first classification of atherosclerosis was made by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 1958 and it consisted of the following sequence: fatty streak, atheroma, fibrous plaque and complicated lesions. In 1990s, thanks to much more sensitive techniques, the American Heart Association (AHA) proposed a new morphological classification based on eight lesion types designated by Roman numerals which indicate the usual sequence of lesion progression. Finally, Virmani et al. (2000) described a classification with the add of a specific plaque type, not recognized by the AHA classification, called "thin fibrous cap atheroma" which is more likely to rupture. The atherosclerotic process is characterized by typical ultrastructural changes that mainly involve the endothelial and smooth muscle cells. The morphological alterations of the endothelium are associated with dysfunctions leading to a proinflammatory and prothrombotic phenotype. This process seems to be due to turbulent blood flow and low fluid shear stress that normally occurs in particular regions of the vascular tree. Inflammation has a key role in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis and it is supported by numerous factors such as modified LDL, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, free radicals and, in particular, by infectious agents such as Chlamydia pneumoniae.

More than 25 years of urogenital Chlamydia trachomatis research in the Netherlands.

This article provides an overview of the Dutch work performed on urogenital Chlamydia trachomatis infections which started over 30 years ago. We will review past PhD research, 50% of which involved C. trachomatis as the main focus of the thesis, as well as research by current PhD fellows investigating (partially) C. trachomatis, and publications from Dutch authors or co-authors and the main discussion forums.

Clamídia: parte 1 / Chlamydia: part 1

Os autores dissertam sobre a história da descoberta do gênero Chlamydia, sua natureza biológica e principais espécies patogênicas, seus aspectos epidemiológicos, quadro clínico e diagnóstico laboratorial. São abordados também fenômenos que complica sua infecção, bem como a análise de fenômenos significativos ainda não esclarecidos, tais como persistência, fenômenos auto-imunes e(ou) de imunidade cruzada e doença ateromatosa. Sugerem esquemas antimicrobianos para o tratamento de suas diversas entidades patológicas, procurando proporcionar informações de cunho prático para o médico. Tratam ainda dos aspectos epidemiológicos das principais doenças por clamídia, destacando o quadro clínico característico nas infecções respiratórias e geniturinárias mais comuns desta bactéria.

Diagnóstico de las infecciones por chlamydia

Las infecciones por las bacterias del genero Chlamydia causan un amplio espectro de enfermedad en humanos y animales. En una gran proporción de los casos de infección genital, la entidad tiene un curso asintomático, llevando a la aparición de complicaciones graves, infertilidad, embarazo ectópico y enfermedad pélvica inflamatoria. Para establecer programas de tamizaje de grupos de riesgo, como las mujeres jóvenes sexualmente activas, es de gran importancia realizar un diagnóstico oportuno y preciso de las infecciones por clamidias. Actualmente se cuenta con cultivos celulares y con técnicas que no incluyen cultivo, como la detección de antígenos (fluorescencia directa e inmunoensayos enzimáticos), detección de anticuerpos (microinmunofluorescencia y fijación del complemento) y pruebas moleculares (PCR, LCR y TMA). El cultivo es un procedimiento dispendioso, disponible sólo en algunos centros especializados. Aunque las pruebas de detección de antígenos se usan ampliamente en nuestro medio las pruebas moleculares han cambiado el perfil diagnóstico tradicional de estas entidades por su gran sensibilidad y especificidad y por la posibilidad de utilizar muestras no invasivas como orina y secreción vaginal o vulvar