{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,27]],"date-time":"2026-01-27T18:05:09Z","timestamp":1769537109665,"version":"3.49.0"},"reference-count":88,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"2","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,22]],"date-time":"2026-01-22T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1769040000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["IJMS"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Chlamydia trachomatis has a significant impact on public health, especially among adolescents and young women; it primarily affects urogenital epithelial cells, leading to cervicitis and urethritis, with &gt;90% of cases showing no symptoms. Consequently, chlamydial infections are commonly misdiagnosed, and, if untreated, they may result in severe reproductive sequelae including infertility. A better understanding of C. trachomatis cell biology and bacterial\u2013host cell interactions may be helpful to identify strategies able to counter its transmission among the population, as well as its dissemination in reproductive tissues, reducing the risk of developing severe reproductive sequelae. Therefore, the present review aims to summarize the evidence on the interplay between C. trachomatis and the host defence factors within the cervicovaginal environment. The sophisticated strategies employed by this clinically significant pathogen to counteract these mechanisms are also discussed. In the literature, the main defence factors include the microbiota dominated by Lactobacillus crispatus and several molecules like lactoferrin, able to protect the cervicovaginal microenvironment against C. trachomatis through several mechanisms (e.g., EB coaggregation and competitive exclusion, as well as anti-inflammatory activity). However, the major player in clearing chlamydial infections remains the interferon-gamma (IFN-\u03b3) produced by natural killer and T cells, via the depletion of critical nutrients for C. trachomatis such as tryptophan, or via the ubiquitylation and destruction of chlamydial inclusions.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijms27021115","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,23]],"date-time":"2026-01-23T09:16:59Z","timestamp":1769159819000},"page":"1115","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Anti-Chlamydia trachomatis Host Defence Arsenal Within the Cervicovaginal Environment"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"27","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2730-8588","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Simone","family":"Filardo","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Regional Department of Clinical Microbiology, University Hospital Waterford, X91 ER8E Waterford, Ireland"},{"name":"Department of Public Health and Infectious Diseases, \u201cSapienza\u201d University, 00185 Rome, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Giulia","family":"Chicarella","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Public Health and Infectious Diseases, \u201cSapienza\u201d University, 00185 Rome, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Rosa","family":"Sessa","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Public Health and Infectious Diseases, \u201cSapienza\u201d University, 00185 Rome, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0197-0485","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Marisa","family":"Di Pietro","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Public Health and Infectious Diseases, \u201cSapienza\u201d University, 00185 Rome, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,22]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"World Health Organization (2025, September 18). 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