Innate Immune sensing of Chlamydia
Molecular Mechanisms of Chlamydial Immunopathology
Cell Autonomous Defenses Against Chlamydia
Memory CD8+ T Cell Responses to Chlamydia
Human Indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase and the CD4+ T Cell Response

Cell Autonomous Defenses Against Chlamydia

Noah Harrison

 

Many host cells, including those that are not professional immune cells, are able to mount individual protective defenses against infection by C. trachomatis and other pathogens in a response called cell-autonomous immunity. The Guanylate Binding Proteins (GBPs), and their effectors, play a role in the cell-autonomous defense against C. trachomatis infection in humans and/or mice. There are 11 GBPs in mice and 8 in humans. GBPs have been shown to restrict the growth and proliferation of intracellular pathogens like C. trachomatis, T. gondii, L. monocytogenes, and M. bovis in vitro. Furthermore, GBPs play a critical role in the activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome. However, to date there has been no characterization of the GBPs role in defending the cell against C. trachomatis in vivo

I am interested in elucidating the role of GBPs in vivo. In particular, I wish to see if GBPs assist significantly in defending the cell against C. trachomatis, and if their role in promoting inflammation promotes chlamydial pathology in vivo.

 
 
Department of Microbiology and Immunobiology | Harvard Medical School | 77 Ave Louis Pasteur, Boston, MA 02115