A structural foundation for studying chlamydial polymorphic membrane proteins.

Infections by bacteria in the genus Chlamydia cause a range of widespread and potentially debilitating conditions in humans and other animals. We analyzed predicted structures of a family of proteins that are potential vaccine targets found in all Chlamydia spp. Our findings deepen the understanding of protein structure, provide a descriptive framework for discussion of the protein structure, and outline regions of the proteins that may be key targets in host-microbe interactions and anti-chlamydial immunity.