Deregulation of the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p27 as a putative candidate for transformation in Chlamydia trachomatis infected mesenchymal stem cells.

Purpose: Several pathological conditions might cause the degradation of the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor (CKI) p27 and cell cycle arrest at the G1 phase, including cancers and infections. Chlamydia trachomatis (Ctr), as an obligatory intracellular pathogen, has been found to alter the fate of the cell from different aspects. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effect of Ctr infection on the expression of the important cell cycle regularity protein p27 in mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs).

Methods: Isolation of MSCs from healthy human fallopian tube was confirmed by detection of the stemness markers Sox2, Nanog and Oct4 and the surface markers CD44, CD73 and CD90 by Western blotting and fluorescence-activated cell sorting analysis. The expression of p27 was downregulated at the protein level upon Ctr D infection measured by Real-Time Quantitative Reverse Transcription PCR (qRT-PCR), IF and Western blotting. Recovery of p27 in Ctr D-infected MSCs was achieved by treatment with difluoromethylornithine (DFMO). Ctr D infected MSCs were able to produce colonies in anchorage-independent soft agar assay.

Conclusion: Ctr D infection was able to downregulate the expression of the important cell cycle regulator protein p27, which will be considered a putative candidate for transformation in Ctr D infected MSCs.