Project 1: Human Responses to Candidate Chlamydial Antigens

Principal Investigators: Toni Darville, MD, and Nilu Goonetilleke, PhD

Co-Investigator: Xinxia Peng, PhD

The goal of this research project is to better understand how our immune system responds to Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) replication in the female genital tract (FGT). The FGT is a unique organ in our body and to effectively function, the FGT actively suppresses immune responses. The rationale of this research project is that control of CT replication requires effective immune cells, called T cells, both in the blood and in the female genital tract. Memory T cells can detect and induce rapid killing of CT-infected cells. We will investigate CT replication and the host T cell response in two unique female cohorts. Samples from these cohorts provide exceptional opportunities to investigate CT immunobiology to directly inform vaccine design.