# TNFR2 blockade prevention of STI infertility

> **NIH NIH R21** · YALE UNIVERSITY · 2024 · $335,000

## Abstract

Project Summary
Chlamydia trachomatis (Ct) is the most common bacterial sexually transmitted infection worldwide, and public
health measures including test-and-treat strategies have been ineffective at curbing incidence and prevalence.
As a consequence, Ct pelvic inflammatory disease and sequelae of ectopic pregnancies and infertility continue
to be important medical issues. Currently there is no therapy that prevents PID-associated infertility. The central
hypotheses of the grant based on Chlamydia muridarum (Cm) mouse model data is that selective TNFR2
blockade will prevent chlamydia PID associated immunopathology and infertility. Enabling this investigation are
a humanized inhibitory anti-human TNFR2 monoclonal antibody developed by the Johnson lab and a new
humanized TNFα/TNFR1/TNFR2 (hTNF) mouse model developed by Biocytogen. Aim #1: To establish a hTNF
mouse breeding colony and compare Cm bacterial shedding and immunopathology scores in hTNF mice with
wild type C57BL/6 mice bred in the same facility. Aim #2: Use gene synthesis technology to rapidly generate
subclass variants of the successfully humanized rat anti-human TNFR2 26C09 monoclonal antibody to
investigate their inhibitory activity in human PBMC activation assays and determine efficacy of mouse
equivalents for preventing immunopathology in the Cm-hTNF mouse model.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10986536
- **Project number:** 1R21HD113862-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** YALE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** RAYMOND Morris JOHNSON
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $335,000
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-08-01 → 2026-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10986536

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10986536, TNFR2 blockade prevention of STI infertility (1R21HD113862-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10986536. Licensed CC0.

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