Reversible inhibition of class 1 myosin as a new strategy in Chlamydia trachomatis treatment.

MARIA EMILIA CUERVO ; DIEGO DEL BALZO; ANAHI CAPMANY

Mendoza

Workshop; Frontiers in Biosciences; 2023

Universidad Nacional de Cuyo

Chlamydia trachomatis is the most prevalent sexually transmitted bacterium worldwide. As an obligate intracellular bacterium, its survival and replication strategy consists of exploiting the machinery of the host cell it infects. Our research has demonstrated that C. trachomatis recruits myosin 1C (Myo1C) to the vacuole where it develops, and that Myo1C is essential for bacterial entry and growth.The use of classical antibiotics to treat chlamydial infections has proven to be inefficient in eradicating persistent infections. Therefore, the development of new therapeutic tools aimed at blocking the host-pathogen interaction is crucial to control persistent infections without generating resistance. Our results demonstrate that treatment with pentachloropseudilin (PClP), a reversible allosteric inhibitor of class 1 myosins, blocks the entry and development of C. trachomatis. PClP is an excellent candidate for the therapeutic treatment of C. trachomatis.