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Pretreatment with Delta‐Tocotrienol Reduces Chlamydia Infection in Mammalian Cell Lines
Author(s) -
Mueller Anne M,
Stuart Elizabeth S,
Tan Barrie
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.20.4.a132-a
Subject(s) - chlamydia , chlamydiae , biology , tocotrienol , chlamydia trachomatis , immunology , flow cytometry , microbiology and biotechnology , virology , vitamin e , tocopherol , biochemistry , antioxidant
Chlamydiae are obligate intracellular, inclusion‐forming bacteria associated with common pathologies including Alzheimer’s disease, multiple sclerosis, atherosclerosis, coronary heart disease, asthma, and respiratory tract infections. Since Chlamydia species enter cells via cholesterol‐rich lipid raft domains involved in cholesterol trafficking, we hypothesized that delta‐tocotrienol, a vitamin E with hypocholesterolemic activity, will reduce infection by Chlamydia . Mouse macrophages (J774A.1), human mammary tumor cells (MCF‐7, TMX2‐28), human epithelial cells (Hep‐2), and human B‐lymphocytes (JY) were incubated with delta‐tocotrienol at concentrations of 10–30 μmol/L for 6 hours prior to infection by C. trachomatis serovar K, a subspecies of Chlamydia that is the primary cause of bacteria‐initiated sexually transmitted disease. Infections were detected by immunofluorescence staining followed by either microscopy or quantitative flow cytometric analysis. Infection levels in cells pretreated with delta‐tocotrienol were decreased by >50%, with concomitant aberrant pathogen development observed with confocal microscopy. The number of large and small inclusions in the delta‐tocotrienol‐versus‐control cells was decreased by 3‐ and 2‐fold, respectively. Flow cytometry showed that chlamydial inhibition in JY cells was at least 2‐fold over an infection period of 72 hours, with a 2.6‐fold maximum inhibition at 36 hours. The impact of dietary delta‐tocotrienol on Chlamydia infection in hyperlipidemic patients is being examined in a clinical study. Cholestero l‐suppressiv e delta‐tocotrienol may have the potential to reduce Chlamydia infection in humans.