Hides inside Apoptotic Neutrophils to Silently Infect and Propagate in Macrophages

is a common pathogen in acute infections of the respiratory tract (e.g. pneumonia) and associated with chronic lung sequelae in adults and children. Within the lung, alveolar macrophages and polymorph nuclear neutrophils (PMN) are the first line of defense against bacteria, but also preferred host phagocytes of chlamydiae. infected PMN to macrophages resulted in an increased TGF-ß production, whereas direct infection of macrophages with chlamydiae was characterized by an enhanced TNF-α response. uses neutrophil granulocytes to be silently taken up by long-lived macrophages, which allows for efficient propagation and immune protection within the human host