# Developing mouse models to study circulating memory to Chlamydia infection

> **NIH NIH R21** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT DAVIS · 2024 · $190,107

## Abstract

Chlamydia infections are a cause of blindness worldwide and a major cause of sexually transmitted disease in
the US. Greater understanding of protective immunity to Chlamydia at mucosal surfaces is urgently required if
an effective vaccine is to become a reality. This application will examine fundemental aspects of protective
CD4 T cells during infection of the female reproductive tract mucosa. Our experimental approach is unique in
that it utilizes a natural route of infection, uses an established model where CD4 T cells participate in bacterial
clearance, and allows for direct visualization of endogenous and transferred Chlamydia-specific CD4 T cells.
Our application specifically proposes to establish new mouse models to understand the mechanism of
protection mediated by circulating memory CD4 T cells and, (i) determine whether innate lymphoid cells recruit
memory cells to the FRT, (ii) examine the contribution of memory Th17 cells in coordinating bacterial
clearance. Developing these infection models and addressing these issues will expand our knowledge of
memory responses to Chlamydia and could be vitally important for the generation of a new vaccine for an
important human pathogen.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10738810
- **Project number:** 5R21AI169123-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT DAVIS
- **Principal Investigator:** STEPHEN J MCSORLEY
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $190,107
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2022-11-10 → 2025-10-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10738810

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10738810, Developing mouse models to study circulating memory to Chlamydia infection (5R21AI169123-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10738810. Licensed CC0.

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