Fallopian tubal infertility: the result of Chlamydia trachomatis-induced fallopian tubal fibrosis.

Chlamydia trachomatis is one of the most common pathogens of sexually transmitted diseases, and its incidence in genital tract infections is now 4.7% in south China. Infertility is the end result of C. trachomatis-induced fallopian tubal fibrosis and is receiving intense attention from scientists worldwide. To reduce the incidence of infertility, it is important to understand the pathology-related changes of the genital tract where C. trachomatis infection is significant, especially the mechanism of fibrosis formation. During fibrosis development, the fallopian tube becomes sticky and occluded, which will eventually lead to tubal infertility. At present, the mechanism of fallopian tubal fibrosis induced by C. trachomatis infection is unclear. Our study attempted to summarize the possible mechanisms of fibrosis caused by C. trachomatis infection in the fallopian tube by reviewing published studies and further providing potential therapeutic targets to reduce the occurrence of infertility. This study also provides ideas for future research. Factors leading to fallopian tube fibrosis include inflammatory factors, miRNA, ECT, cHSP, and host factors. We hypothesized that C. trachomatis mediates the transcription and translation of EMT and ECM via upregulating TGF signaling pathway, which leads to the formation of fallopian tube fibrosis and ultimately to tubal infertility. Similar content being viewed by others Data availability No data or material were generated or used during the study.

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Corresponding authors Ethics declarations Conflicts of interest The authors declare that they have no competing interests. Ethical approval This is a review article and does not included human or animal experiments. Additional information Publisher's Note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Rights and permissions About this article Cite this article Ling, H., Luo, L., Dai, X. et al. Fallopian tubal infertility: the result of Chlamydia trachomatis-induced fallopian tubal fibrosis. Mol Cell Biochem 477, 205–212 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11010-021-04270-7 Received: Accepted: Published: Version of record: Issue date: DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11010-021-04270-7