# Typhoid Vaccines Targeting Both Salmonella Typhi and Its Secreted Virulence Factor

> **NIH NIH R01** · CORNELL UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $392,500

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY / ABSTRACT
Typhoid fever is a major global health concern, with ongoing occurring outbreaks in some developing countries.
The causative agent of typhoid fever is the gram-negative bacterium, Salmonella Typhi. It has been recently
discovered that S. Typhi produces an unusual toxin known as typhoid toxin. The goal of this research program
is to generate typhoid fever vaccines targeting both the bacterium and its secreted virulence factor typhoid toxin,
and to design and specify the right-intrinsic-adjuvant system of those vaccines. In Specific Aim 1 we will
genetically engineer the Ty21a vaccine strain to make it express inactive typhoid toxin, and in Specific Aim 2 we
will generate Ty21a expressing the toxin’s receptor binding subunit without its two enzymatic subunits. In Specific
Aim 3, we will survey PltB variants to define their specific glycan binding preference, in order to specify the
adjustment on the PltB sequence, aimed at maximizing immunoreactivities of targeted age groups. The modified
Ty21a vaccines generated as part of this study are expected to be more effective and may even have potential
applications for uses in humans.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9928889
- **Project number:** 5R01AI139625-03
- **Recipient organization:** CORNELL UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Jeongmin Song
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $392,500
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-06-08 → 2023-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9928889

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9928889, Typhoid Vaccines Targeting Both Salmonella Typhi and Its Secreted Virulence Factor (5R01AI139625-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9928889. Licensed CC0.

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