Urogenital Chlamydia trachomatis (C. trachomatis) infection is one of the most common bacterial sexually transmitted diseases worldwide. Untreated C. trachomatis infections that ascend to the upper genital tract lead to a series of severe complications. To search for novel antichlamydial drugs, we evaluated the effect of nafamostat mesylate (NM), a synthetic serine protease inhibitor, on chlamydial infection. NM inhibited chlamydial intracellular growth and reduced both the inclusion size and number in cell culture. NM may mainly target the intracellular reticulate bodies for inhibition. NM was also effective in enhancing chlamydial clearance from mouse genital tract when NM was applied to mice via intravaginal inoculation. The vaginal NM did not significantly alter inflammatory cytokine responses in the mouse genital tract. Thus, we have demonstrated a novel role of NM in inhibiting the obligate intracellular bacterium Chlamydia.

泌尿生殖道沙眼衣原体（C. trachomatis）感染是全世界最常见的细菌性传播疾病之一。未经治疗的沙眼衣原体上升至上生殖道的感染导致一系列严重的并发症。为了寻找新型抗衣原体药物，我们评估了合成的丝氨酸蛋白酶抑制剂甲磺酸萘法莫他（NM）对衣原体感染的影响。NM抑制衣原体细胞内生长，并减少细胞培养物中包涵体的大小和数量。NM可能主要针对细胞内网状体进行抑制。当通过阴道内接种将NM应用于小鼠时，NM也可有效增强从小鼠生殖道的衣原体清除。阴道NM并未明显改变小鼠生殖道中的炎性细胞因子反应。因此，我们证明了NM在抑制专性细胞内细菌衣原体中的新作用。