SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED DISEASES COOPERATIVE RESEARCH CENTE

本STD-CRC的主要目标是针对两种主要STD病原体的预防和控制，即沙眼衣原体和淋病奈瑟菌在其自然环境中感染这些生物体的患者。提出了五个研究项目和四个服务核心（行政，临床，实验室和统计）。在第一个项目中，我们建议开发和评估的教育干预，以防止衣原体感染性活跃的内城青年使用人口的两个波士顿青少年诊所（波士顿医疗中心和儿童医院）。在第二个项目中，我们建议使用新开发的遗传技术来鉴定新的毒力基因和机制，特别是集中在如何C。沙眼调节它们的二型生命周期。在第三个项目中，我们提出研究细菌LPS（或LOS）受体CR 3和CD 14在宿主对生殖器感染N.淋球菌和C.沙眼 我们认为，先天免疫反应决定了这两种病原体的专职和非专职吞噬细胞的摄取程度。在第四个项目中，我们建议研究N.淋病进入生殖器上皮细胞后，以及在这些事件中上调的去唾液酸糖蛋白受体的作用。与第三个项目一起，我们还将研究这些细胞以CD 14非依赖性方式产生细胞因子的基础。在第五个项目中，我们建议继续研究免疫学假说，即抵抗N。淋病接触者可能具有保护性免疫力。我们将确定在体内表达和免疫反应的一组铁调节蛋白质的受试者与淋病，还检查是否妇女谁抵抗淋球菌感染港口潜在的保护性免疫反应。与第四个项目一起，我们还将研究这些蛋白质在尿道上皮细胞感染模型中的调节。

The major objectives of this STD-CRC are directed towards the prevention and control of two major STD pathogens, Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae in the context of their natural settings-patients infected with these organisms. Five research projects and four service cores (Administrative, Clinical, Laboratory and Statistical) are proposed. In the first project we propose to develop and evaluate an educational intervention to prevent Chlamydia infection among sexually active inner city youths using the populations of two Boston adolescent clinics (Boston Medical Center and Children's Hospital). In the second Project, we propose to use newly developed genetic techniques to identify novel virulence genes and mechanisms focusing particularly on how C. trachomatis regulate their dimorphic life cycle. In the third Project we proposed to examine the role of bacterial LPS (or LOS) receptors, CR3 and CD14, in the host response to genital infections with N. gonorrhoeae and C. trachomatis. We believe that innate immune responses determine the extent of uptake by both professional and non-professional phagocytes of these two pathogens. In the fourth Project we propose to examine the trafficking pathway of N. gonorrhoeae after it enters genital epithelial cells and the effects of the up-regulated asialoglycoprotein receptor in these events. Together with the third project we will also examine the basis upon which these cells produce cytokines in a CD14 independent fashion. In the fifth Project we propose to continue to investigate the immunologic hypothesis that women who resist infection with N. gonorrhoeae when exposed may have protective immunity. We will determine in vivo expression of and the immune response to a group of iron-regulated proteins in subjects with gonorrhea, examining also whether women who resist gonococcal infection harbor potentially protective immune responses. Together with the fourth Project, we will also examine the regulation of these proteins in the model of urethral epithelial cell infection.