Chlamydia pneumoniae Infection of the Central Nervous System Worsens Experimental Allergic Encephalitis

Experimental allergic encephalitis (EAE) is considered by many to be a model for human multiple sclerosis. Intraperitoneal inoculation of mice with Chlamydia pneumoniae, after immunization with neural antigens, increased the severity of EAE. Accentuation of EAE required live infectious C. pneumoniae, and the severity of the disease was attenuated with antiinfective therapy. After immunization with neural antigens, systemic infection with C. pneumoniae led to the dissemination of the organism into the central nervous system (CNS) in mice with accentuated EAE. Inoculation with Chlamydia trachomatis did not worsen EAE and infectious organisms were not seen in the CNS. These observations suggest that dissemination of C. pneumoniae results in localized infection in CNS tissues in animals with EAE. We propose that infection of the CNS by C. pneumoniae can amplify the autoreactive pool of lymphocytes and regulate the expression of an autoimmune disease.