# Role of the Clp Protease Systems in the Growth and Pathogenesis of Chlamydia

> **NIH NIH R56** · UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA MEDICAL CENTER · 2020 · $378,944

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Chlamydia is an obligate intracellular bacterial pathogen that causes a range of serious diseases in humans.
In developed countries, Chlamydia trachomatis is the primary cause of bacterial sexually transmitted infections
(STI). Indeed, recent reports from the Centers for Disease Control highlight the increasing incidence of STIs,
with chlamydia infections consistently outpacing all other types. In developing countries, C. trachomatis is not
only a significant cause of STI, but it is also responsible for the primary cause of infectious preventable
blindness, trachoma. The major concern of chlamydial infections is that they are often asymptomatic and
undiagnosed, which can lead to chronic sequelae. These include pelvic inflammatory disease, tubal factor
infertility, and reactive arthritis for C. trachomatis. Consequently, chlamydial diseases remain a significant
burden on health care systems around the world.
In adapting to obligate intracellular growth, Chlamydia has significantly reduced its genome size and
eliminated genes from various pathways as it relies on the host cell for its metabolic needs. This pathogen
also alternates between different functional and morphological forms during its normal growth, also referred
to as its developmental cycle. These observations, combined with its obligate intracellular dependence, makes
Chlamydia a difficult organism with which to work. However, recent development of genetic tools to study
chlamydiae mechanistically have significantly enhanced our understanding of this pathogen. This proposal
applies a combination of these new genetic techniques and classical biochemical studies to evaluate the role
of conserved protease systems in chlamydial growth and pathogenesis. The hypothesis of the proposed work
is that Chlamydia uses two separate protease systems to regulate its growth and transition between
developmental forms as well as to respond to stress. Results will advance our understanding of this important
pathogen and lead to the design of novel therapeutic agents that are specific for Chlamydia. This in turn will
allow for minimal effects on normal flora for patients receiving treatment for this highly prevalent disease.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10241182
- **Project number:** 1R56AI146062-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA MEDICAL CENTER
- **Principal Investigator:** Scot P Ouellette
- **Activity code:** R56 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $378,944
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2020-09-01 → 2022-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10241182

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10241182, Role of the Clp Protease Systems in the Growth and Pathogenesis of Chlamydia (1R56AI146062-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10241182. Licensed CC0.

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