Double Trouble

Patients with cervical cancer are often simultaneously infected with human papillomavirus (HPV) and Chlamydia trachomatis – a coinfection suspected of adversely affecting the infected cells. Now, researchers have developed 3D organoids to investigate and confirm the coinfection dynamics of HPV16 and chlamydia (1). The image above depicts patient-derived ectocervical stratified squamous organoids (green) infected with C. trachomatis (red). Based on their findings, the authors highlight that “co-persistence of HPV and Chlamydia in a stem cell could adversely affect cellular and genomic stability and promote neoplastic progression.”