Long-term clinical, microbiological, and immunological observations of a volunteer repeatedly infected with Chlamydia trachomatis.

A blind volunteer was inoculated in one eye with an isolate of Chlamydia trachomatis in 1961 and followed for 20 years. During this time, many observations were made of his clinical responses to the first inoculation and several subsequent inoculations with the same and other strains, chlamydial shedding, and antibody and cell-mediated immune responses. Evidence is presented that partial resistance to chlamydial eye infection developed during repeated infections and that antibodies, cell-mediated immune reactions, and specific antigen in conjunctival cells persisted for many years after the last infection.

Immune responses to chlamydial antigens in humans.

Antibody titer, lymphocyte stimulation and leukocyte migration inhibition with chlamydial antigens were determined repeatedly over many months on human subjects. The volunteers were retrospectively placed into four groups on the basis of clinical, laboratory and epidemiologic criteria. Group A consisted of persons with proven or probable chlamydial infection, including an illness confirmed by chlamydial isolation or seroconversion, or a clinically compatible illness with positive serologic results.

Cell-mediated and humoral immune responses to chlamydial antigens in guinea pigs infected ocularly with the agent of guinea pig inclusion conjunctivitis.

Cell-mediated immune response and humoral response to chlamydial antigens were investigated in guinea pigs infected with the agent of guinea pig inclusion conjunctivitis (GPIC). Pronounced cell-mediated immune response to the homologous antigen, as well as to two other chlamydial antigens, 6BC (Chlamydia psittaci) and LB-1 (C. trachomatis), occurred in all infected animals.

Effect of seminal plasma on Chlamydia trachomatis strain LB-1 in cell culture.

Human seminal plasma inhibited formation of strain LB-1 chlamydial inclusions in McCoy cells proportional to the concentration of seminal plasma added after chlamydial adsorption.

Cell-mediated immune responses to chlamydial antigens in guinea pigs injected with inactivated chlamydiae.

Cell-mediated immunity (CMI) to chlamydial antigens was readily induced in guinea pigs by a single injection of Betaprone-inactivated chlamydiae in complete Freund adjuvant. The CMI was measured in vivo by delayed hypersensitivity skin tests, and in vitro by inhibition of migration of peritoneal exudate cells and by proliferation of lymph node lymphocytes. There was an overall correlation between in vivo and in vitro responses.