Anti-<em>Chlamydia trachomatis </em>Host Defence Arsenal Within the Cervicovaginal Environment

Chlamydia trachomatis has a significant impact on public health, especially among adoles-cents 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 as well as bacterial-host cell interactions may be helpful to identify strategies able to counter its transmission among populations 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 amongst host defence factors within the cervicovaginal environment to resist C. trachomatis infection and on sophisticated strategies employed by this clinically significant pathogen to counter these mechanisms.