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Query: UMLS:C0149514 (bronchitis)
 6,902 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Chlamydia are obligate intracellular eubacteria that are phylogenetically separated from other bacterial divisions. C. trachomatis and C. pneumoniae are both pathogens of humans but differ in their tissue tropism and spectrum of diseases. C. pneumoniae is a newly recognized species of Chlamydia that is a natural pathogen of humans, and causes pneumonia and bronchitis. In the United States, approximately 10% of pneumonia cases and 5% of bronchitis cases are attributed to C. pneumoniae infection. Chronic disease may result following respiratory-acquired infection, such as reactive airway disease, adult-onset asthma and potentially lung cancer. In addition, C. pneumoniae infection has been associated with atherosclerosis. C. trachomatis infection causes trachoma, an ocular infection that leads to blindness, and sexually transmitted diseases such as pelvic inflammatory disease, chronic pelvic pain, ectopic pregnancy and epididymitis. Although relatively little is known about C. trachomatis biology, even less is known concerning C. pneumoniae. Comparison of the C. pneumoniae genome with the C. trachomatis genome will provide an understanding of the common biological processes required for infection and survival in mammalian cells. Genomic differences are implicated in the unique properties that differentiate the two species in disease spectrum. Analysis of the 1,230,230-nt C. pneumoniae genome revealed 214 protein-coding sequences not found in C. trachomatis, most without homologues to other known sequences. Prominent comparative findings include expansion of a novel family of 21 sequence-variant outer-membrane proteins, conservation of a type-III secretion virulence system, three serine/threonine protein kinases and a pair of parologous phospholipase-D-like proteins, additional purine and biotin biosynthetic capability, a homologue for aromatic amino acid (tryptophan) hydroxylase and the loss of tryptophan biosynthesis genes.
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PMID:Comparative genomes of Chlamydia pneumoniae and C. trachomatis. 1019 88

Chlamydia pneumoniae is a recently recognized human respiratory pathogen with a unique biphasic life cycle characterized by an obligate intracellular (replicative) and an extracellular (infectious) form of the organism. C. pneumoniae is widely distributed and, via the respiratory route, infects the majority of the world's population. The majority (70%) of acute human C. pneumoniae respiratory tract infections are asymptomatic or only mildly symptomatic but a minority (30%) cause more severe respiratory illnesses including community-acquired pneumonia, bronchitis and a variety of upper airway illnesses. After acute infection the C. pneumoniae intracellular life cycle is characterized by the development of metabolically inert (and thus antibiotic resistant) atypical "persistent" inclusions; this biologic behavior correlates with a clinical course following acute symptomatic illness that is characterized by persistence of symptoms that are difficult to treat with antibiotics. A role for C. pneumoniae in chronic respiratory illness is currently under investigation: "persistent" intracellular inclusions contain increased quantities of chlamydial heat shock protein 60 (hsp 60), a highly immunogenic protein that has been implicated in the pathogenesis of established chronic inflammatory chlamydial diseases (blinding trachoma, pelvic inflammatory disease and tubal infertility). An emerging body of evidence, including host immune response to chlamydial hsp 60, links C. pneumoniae infection with a spectrum of chronic inflammatory lung diseases of currently unknown etiology (asthma, chronic bronchitis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)). Further laboratory developments, including reliable and practical diagnostic methods and antibiotics effective against persistent infection, will be required to recognize and treat acute C. pneumoniae infection, and to advance our knowledge and understanding of the role of chronic infection in asthma, chronic bronchitis and COPD.
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PMID:Chlamydia pneumoniae as a respiratory pathogen. 1186 Dec 11