J Korean Androl Soc.  1989 Jun;7(1):7-16.

Diagnosis and Biology of Chlamydia trachomatis

• Choi TY

Abstract

In recent years, the incidence of sexually transmitted diseases has increased at an alarming rate. Besides the organisms of gonorrhea and syphilis, there are numerous infectious agents that are sexually transmitted-other bacteria, viruses, fungi, protozoa, mycoplasmas, and chlamydia. Various combination of these organizms can coexist, chlamydial infections have been recognized as one of the most common of the sexually transmitted disease. Chamydia differ from viruses, however, in that chlamydiae contain both ribonudeic acid(RNA) and deoxyribonudeic acid(DNA), possess ribosomes, and have a cell wall similar to bacteria. As human pathogens, the organisms of C. trachomatis cause a number of disease. Primarily these are disease of the eye(trachoma and inclusion conjunctivities) and of the urogenital tract(lymphgranuloma venerum(LGV), urethritis, and cervicitis). Other diseases in which Chlamydia are implicated are infant pneumonia and pelvic inflammatory disease(PID). Three general approaches are used in the laboratory diagnosis of Chlamydial infection. 1. Direct examination of clinical specimens 2. Isolation of the organisms 3. Detection of antibodies. The selection of the best diagnostic method depends upon these factors and upon the capabilities of the individual laboratory. For direct examination, a slide is prepared from the clinical specimen, stained and microscopically examined for the presence of chlamydia organisms and/or inclusions. Giemsa, iodine, and immunofluorescent staining are widely used procedures. Isolation of the chlamydia organism is the most sensitive method for the laboratory diagnosis of both male and female infections of the genital tract. Chlamydia is isolated in cell cultures which have been treated with chemical and/or irradiated. The ones that have been established as sensitive hosts for isolation are McCoy, HeLa 229, and BHK-21(Clone 13). At present, several selorogic tests are well established for C. trachomatis evaluation the complement fixation(CF) test and the immunofluorescent(IF) test. The CF test is group-specific-that is, the reacting antigen is common to all members of chlamydia genus cannot distinguish species or immunotypes. The test can be used to measure antibodies to psittacosis and LGV. The micro-IF is an indirect immunofluorescence test, which is extremely sensitive for detection, quantitation, and immunotyping antibody. At the most recent, gene probe hybridization is directly used to detect chlamydia from clinical specimens.

MeSH Terms

Antibodies
Bacteria
Biology*
Cell Culture Techniques
Cell Wall
Chlamydia trachomatis*
Chlamydia*
Clinical Laboratory Techniques
Complement System Proteins
Diagnosis*
Female
Fluorescent Antibody Technique, Indirect
Fungi
Gonorrhea
Humans
Incidence
Infant
Iodine
Male
Mycoplasma
Pneumonia
Psittacosis
Ribosomes
Sexually Transmitted Diseases
Syphilis
Urethritis
Antibodies
Complement System Proteins
Iodine