Publications by authors named "Chunxue Lu"

Article Synopsis
  • The study evaluated various chlamydial antigens for potential subunit vaccines against genital infections in a mouse model, identifying two antigens that reduced infection but failed to prevent disease pathology.
  • Despite testing multiple immunization regimens, including intranasal and combinational approaches, the researchers could not find a successful subunit vaccine candidate.
  • The findings highlighted the superior effectiveness of using viable chlamydial organisms in inducing immunity, suggesting the potential for a live-attenuated Chlamydia vaccine instead.
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is a human pathogen that causes atypical pneumonia after zoonotic transmission. We confirmed that infection induces oxidative stress in human bronchial epithelial (HBEs) cells and explored how this is regulated through miR-184 and the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway. miR-184 mimic, miR-184 inhibitor, FOXO1 siRNA, or negative control sequence was transfected into HBE cells cultured in serum-free medium using Lipofectamine 2000.

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(), a zoonotic pathogen, poses a potential threat to public health security and the development of animal husbandry. Vaccine-based preventative measures for infectious diseases have a promising landscape. DNA vaccines, with many advantages, have become one of the dominant candidate strategies in preventing and controlling the chlamydial infection.

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  • Chlamydia trachomatis uses strategies to prevent host cell apoptosis, creating a safe environment for its lifecycle.
  • The study focuses on the Pgp3 protein, a key virulence factor, which enhances the expression of HO-1 to inhibit apoptosis; disabling HO-1 negates Pgp3's anti-apoptotic effects.
  • Research indicates that Pgp3 regulates HO-1 through the PI3K/Akt pathway, affecting Nrf2's ability to enter the nucleus, shedding light on how C. trachomatis manipulates cell death.
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Urogenital tract infections with have frequently been detected among patients diagnosed with sexually transmitted infections, and such infections lead to inflammatory complications. Currently, no licensed chlamydial vaccine is available in clinical practice. We previously reported that immunization with recombinant plasmid-encoded virulence factor Pgp3 provided cross-serovar protection against genital tract infection.

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Chlamydia trachomatis (C. trachomatis) is a kind of intracellular parasitic microorganism, which can causes many diseases such as trachoma. In this strategy, a specific hairpin DNA with the probe loop as specific regions to recognize C.

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MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a type of endogenous non-coding short-chain RNA, which plays a crucial role in the regulation of many essential cellular functions, including cellular migration, proliferation, invasion, autophagy, oxidative stress, apoptosis, and differentiation. The lung can be damaged by pathogenic microorganisms, as well as physical or chemical factors. Research has confirmed that miRNAs and lung cell apoptosis can affect the development and progression of several lung diseases.

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Chlamydia trachomatis urogenital tract infection causes pelvic inflammatory disease and infertility, increases the risk of co-infection with HPV and HIV. Chlamydial vaccination is considered the most promising approach to prevent and control its infection. Among various chlamydial vaccine candidates, chlamydial protease-like activity factor (CPAF) have been reported to provide robust protective immunity against genital chlamydial infection in mice with reduced vaginal shedding and oviduct pathology.

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Aim: Chlamydia trachomatis has evolved various strategies to alleviate oxidative stress of host cells to maintain their intracellular survival. However, the exact mechanism of anti-oxidative stress of C. trachomatis is still unclear.

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Aims: To investigate the roles and mechanisms of C. trachomatis glycogen synthase (GlgA) in regulating the inflammatory response in THP-1 cells.

Main Methods: In this work, after THP-1 cells were stimulated with GlgA, transcript and protein expression levels were measured by qRT-PCR and ELISA, respectively.

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Article Synopsis
  • The chlamydial plasmid encodes CPSIT_P7, a protein that plays a crucial role in chlamydial infection and the body's immune response.
  • CPSIT_P7 is shown to increase levels of inflammatory cytokines IL-6, IL-8, and MCP-1 in human monocytic cells (THP-1).
  • The study found that silencing the TLR4 gene or using dominant negative plasmids for TLR4, MyD88, and Mal can reduce the inflammatory response activated by CPSIT_P7, indicating its role in the TLR4/Mal/MyD88/NF-κB signaling pathway.
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  • Chlamydia psittaci, the cause of psittacosis, poses a major public health risk, with vaccines seen as the best way to prevent its spread.
  • A study tested a new tandem epitope vaccine (SP), based on Pgp3 protein, which elicited strong immune responses in mice and reduced pathogen levels in their lungs.
  • The results indicate that the SP vaccine shows good potential for providing protection against chlamydial infections, suggesting an important step forward in vaccine development.
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Objective: To explore the role of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) in immune response to urogenital chlamydial infection and urogenital pathology in mice.

Methods: Fifteen female wild-type (WT) C57BL/6J mice and 15 TNF-α receptor knockout (TNF-αR KO) mice were inoculated intravaginally with 1×10 inclusion forming units (IFUs) of live . At 56 days after the first inoculation, 8 mice from each group were subjected to a second inoculation at the same dose.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study investigates antibody responses to Chlamydia trachomatis in nonhuman primates, specifically looking at macaques infected through different routes (intravaginally and ocularly).
  • Sera from 12 macaques were analyzed, revealing that they recognized a total of 172 C. trachomatis antigens, with variations in recognition based on the macaque type and infection method used.
  • The findings suggest that the presence of antibodies to the outer membrane complex B antigen (OmcB) may serve as a biomarker for more invasive C. trachomatis infections, highlighting a link between infection severity and antibody response.
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Chlamydia trachomatis (C. trachomatis) is the leading cause of bacterial sexually transmitted diseases and infectious diseases that cause blindness. The pathophysiology of chlamydial infections is poorly understood, but secreted proteins have emerged as key virulence factors.

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  • Cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) is a precancerous condition, with less severe forms like CIN1 often regressing on their own, while high-grade forms (CIN2 and CIN3) have a higher risk of progressing to cancer.
  • The study aimed to estimate regression and progression rates specifically for CIN2 by analyzing data from multiple prior studies.
  • The results showed a 42.66% overall regression rate for CIN2, with higher rates in studies focusing only on CIN2 patients (50.85%) compared to mixed cases with CIN3 (36.31%), alongside a 10.28% progression rate, indicating that younger patients have a better chance of spontaneous regression.
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Previously we reported that recombinant Chlamydia muridarum macrophage infectivity potentiator (MIP) provided partial protection against C. muridarum genital tract infection in mice. On the other hand, Chlamydia trachomatis plasmid encoded Pgp3could induce the protection against C.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study assessed the immune protection of the C. psittaci plasmid protein CPSIT_p7 in mice, using adjuvants for vaccination.
  • Vaccinated mice showed reduced chlamydial load, lower IFN-γ levels, and less lung damage after being exposed to C. psittaci, linked to specific immune responses.
  • The protective effects were found to rely on CD4 T cells, which effectively reduced chlamydial load when transferred to unvaccinated mice.
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LIGHT, a costimulatory member of the immunoglobulin superfamily (Ig SF), can greatly impact T cell activation. The role of the LIGHT signaling pathway in chlamydial infection was evaluated in mice following respiratory tract infection with Chlamydia psittaci. Compared with wild type (WT) mice, LIGHT knockout (KO) mice showed significant reduction of body weight, much lower survival rate, higher bacterial burden, prolonged infection time courses and more severe pathological changes in lung tissue.

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Objective: To study the role of lymphotoxin-like inducible protein that competes with glycoprotein D for herpesvirus entry on T cells (LIGHT) in the development of protective immunity and pathology during Chlamydia Muridarum urogenital infection in mice.

Methods: C57BL/6J wild type (wt) and mice deficient in LIGHT (LIGHT KO) were inoculated intravaginally with 1 x 10(4) IFUs of live C. muridarum organisms.

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Objective: To retrospectively analyse the medical imaging examination results of the injuries and illnesses during the 2008 Olympic Games and 2013 China National Games in Shenyang Divison.

Methods: Collected and analyzed the health information and medical imaging examination results from Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University during the two games.

Results: There was 9 cases of sports injuries in the 2008 Olympic Games, mainly for knee, ankle ligament injury and muscle sprain, 36 cases of sports injuries in the 2013 China National Games, mainly for head traumas (9 cases), knee injuries (7 cases), ankle injuries (7 cases), shoulder injures (4 cases).

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Chlamydia possesses a conserved 7.5 kb plasmid that is known to play an important role in chlamydial pathogenesis, since some chlamydial organisms lacking the plasmid are attenuated. The chlamydial transformation system developed recently required the use of plasmid-free organisms.

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Article Synopsis
  • Glycogen synthase (GlgA) was found both in Chlamydia trachomatis organisms and in the cytosol of host cells during infection.
  • The localization of GlgA in host cell cytoplasm increases glycogen stores but does not impact subsequent C. trachomatis infections.
  • GlgA is recognized as immunogenic in women infected with C. trachomatis, indicating its potential role in the pathogen's effects on human health.
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The p35 molecule is unique to interleukin-12 (IL-12), while p40 is shared by both IL-12 and IL-23. IL-12 promotes Th1 T cell responses, while IL-23 promotes Th17 T cell responses. The roles of IL-12p35- and IL-12p40-mediated responses in chlamydial infection were compared in mice following an intravaginal infection with Chlamydia muridarum.

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Infection with Chlamydia trachomatis induces inflammatory pathologies in the urogenital tract that can lead to infertility and ectopic pregnancy. Pathogenesis of infection has been mostly attributed to excessive cytokine production. However, precise mechanisms on how C.

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