Barron et al. first inoculated female mice with Chlamydia trachomatis pneumonia into their vagina, successfully infecting them with MoPn. Chlamydia inclusion bodies were visible on cervical smears, and antibody responses were observed in the serum. Ito et al. established a cervical inflammation infection model by administering H-type CT through the vagina to distant CF-1 mice without hormone and immunological pretreatment. The results showed that the duration of CT secretion ranged from 2 to 10 days, and 38% and 17% of CT culture positive mice showed increased IgG and IgM antibody titers, respectively. The infection is mainly limited to the cervix and rarely spreads to the uterine cavity. However, intracellular inclusions and infectious protozoa were not detected in reproductive organ tissues, and cervical infection can only be established during special periods of the estrous cycle. Afterwards, Luis et al. established a mouse model of chlamydial salpingitis and infertility by intravaginal inoculation of 3 × 10 7th power IFU MoPn in inbred C3H/HeN (H-2k), C57BL/6N (H-2b), and BALB/c (H-2d) mice. After 6 weeks of inoculation with MoPn and mating, the reproductive ability of the experimental group mice significantly decreased, manifested by a decrease in the number of pregnant mice and the number of embryos per pregnant mouse. Sukumar et al. further administered different amounts of MoPn intravaginal to BALB/C (H-2d), C3H (H-2k), and C57BL/6 (H-2b) mice of different ages (5-14 weeks). The results showed that the young group of mice had more severe infections, manifested by a higher positive rate and longer duration of vaginal swab chlamydia culture per week. And the infertility rate of young mice after mating is higher, with fewer embryos per pregnant mouse. The susceptibility of CT vaginal infection is related to the age of mice, and older mice have stronger resistance.
Vaginal vaccination has the same ascending infection route as normal CT scan, and does not require open abdominal treatment. But there is a limitation in the age of the mice, requiring a large amount of vaccination, which is relatively less likely to cause sequelae such as endometritis and salpingitis. To increase susceptibility, progesterone pretreatment is currently commonly used in mice. Progesterone induces a transition from Th1 cells to Th2 cells, but alters hormone and immune balance, which may differ from normal infection.