This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. Mycoplasma genitalium is a newly recognized cause of reproductive tract disease in men and women. Syndromes associated with this organism include urethritis, mucopurulent cervicitis, pelvic inflammatory disease, and endometritis, with possible sequelae that include infertility, chronic pelvic pain, and preterm birth. Unfortunately, a suitable animal model is not available to study the pathogenesis and immunobiology of infection with this organism and ultimately to devise intervention strategies to reduce the impact of the morbidity associated with these diseases. We thus propose to evaluate the ability of M. genitalium to infect, persist, and induce an immune response in Macaca nemestrina, and evade this immune response by variation in genes for its surface-exposed immunodominant proteins. To this end, we propose to assess M. genitalium infection in the well-established salpingeal pocket and cervical infection model developed by Dr. Dorothy Patton for other reproductive tract pathogens. In addition to monitoring survival and growth of this organism in these two sites, we will assess development of genome sequence changes in M. genitalium in response to infection. We anticipate that the results obtained in this pilot project will serve as valuable preliminary data supporting the role of antigenic variation in persistence of this organism, providing powerful preliminary data for future grant proposals assessing the immunopathogenesis of this emerging pathogen.
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