{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"institution":[{"name":"bioRxiv"}],"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,22]],"date-time":"2026-09-22T16:47:56Z","timestamp":1790095676358,"version":"4.0.1"},"posted":{"date-parts":[[2025,3,16]]},"group-title":"Microbiology","reference-count":64,"publisher":"openRxiv","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,3,16]],"date-time":"2025-03-16T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1742083200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"accepted":{"date-parts":[[2025,3,16]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>ABSTRACT<\/jats:title>\n                <jats:p>\n                  <jats:italic>Chlamydia trachomatis<\/jats:italic>\n                  (\n                  <jats:italic>C.t<\/jats:italic>\n                  ) infections can lead to severe complications due to the pathogen\u2019s ability to evade the host immune response, often resulting in asymptomatic infections. The mechanisms underlying this immune subversion remain incompletely understood but likely involve specific bacterial effector proteins. Here, we identify CT181 as a novel effector that directly binds to Mcl-1, a key regulator of neutrophil survival. While a\n                  <jats:italic>C.t.<\/jats:italic>\n                  CT181 mutant exhibited only modest defects in epithelial cell replication and inclusion development, it was essential for\n                  <jats:italic>C.t.<\/jats:italic>\n                  survival in neutrophils, correlating with Mcl-1 stabilization. Using a murine infection model, we demonstrate that CT181 is required for\n                  <jats:italic>C.t.<\/jats:italic>\n                  colonization and cytokine production\n                  <jats:italic>in vivo<\/jats:italic>\n                  . Our findings establish CT181 as the first bacterial effector protein known to bind Mcl-1 to enhance neutrophil survival, revealing a critical strategy by which\n                  <jats:italic>C.t.<\/jats:italic>\n                  promotes immune dysregulation, facilitating bacterial persistence while driving\n                  <jats:italic>C.t.<\/jats:italic>\n                  pathogenesis.\n                <\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1101\/2025.03.16.643443","type":"posted-content","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,3,19]],"date-time":"2025-03-19T15:44:02Z","timestamp":1742399042000},"source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":3,"title":["The\n                  <i>Chlamydia trachomatis<\/i>\n                  secreted effector protein CT181 binds to Mcl-1 to prolong neutrophil survival"],"prefix":"10.64898","author":[{"given":"Robert","family":"Faris","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, Iowa City, Iowa, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Rebecca","family":"Koch","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Microbiology, Biocenter, University of Wuerzburg, Wuerzburg, Germany Chair of Microbiology, University of W\u00fcrzburg, W\u00fcrzburg, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Paige","family":"McCaslin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, Iowa City, Iowa, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Naveen","family":"Challagundla","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Microbiology, Biocenter, University of Wuerzburg, Wuerzburg, Germany Chair of Microbiology, University of W\u00fcrzburg, W\u00fcrzburg, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Brianna","family":"Steiert","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, Iowa City, Iowa, USA"},{"name":"Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Pathology, Washington State University, Pullman WA, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Shelby E.","family":"Andersen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, Iowa City, Iowa, USA"},{"name":"Department of Immunology and Microbiology, University of Colorado - Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Parker","family":"Smith","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, Iowa City, Iowa, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"C.A.","family":"Jabeena","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, Iowa City, Iowa, USA"},{"name":"Emory National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Peter","family":"Yau","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Carver Biotechnology Center \u2013 Protein Sciences Facility, University of Illinois at Urbana\u2013Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Thomas","family":"Rudel","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Microbiology, Biocenter, University of Wuerzburg, Wuerzburg, Germany Chair of Microbiology, University of W\u00fcrzburg, W\u00fcrzburg, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Mary 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