The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center's Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI) Collaborative Research Center will conduct research with a primary focus on prevention of female reproductive tract damage due to sexually transmitted microbial agents. This program brings together a multidisciplinary group of researchers, with both clinical and basic research expertise in the field of STIs. The UPMC STI CRC will conduct research to determine methods of """"""""prevention of female reproductive tract damage due to STIs"""""""". It will do so through a set of four interrelated and thematically linked research projects, each reflecting the particular research strengths of the Project Leaders/Principal Investigators (PI). Project 1 (Wiesenfeld, PI) will determine the importance of anti-anaerobic therapy in the treatment of women with acute PID. Project 2 (Hillier, PI) will determine the role of novel organisms in acute endometritis. Project 3 (Darville, PI) will determine the role of Toll-like receptor 2 signaling in innate and adaptive responses to Chlamydiae. Project 4 (Cherpes, PI) will determine protective T cell responses to Chlamydia trachomatis infection. Several specific areas of interest called for in the STI CRC funding opportunity announcement will be addressed by work outlined in this U19 proposal including: (1) development of treatment strategies for STIs, (2) research that provides a better understanding of vaginal ecology, including interactions between vaginal flora and STI-causing organisms, (3) research on the pathogenesis of disease caused by organisms transmitted by sexual contact and associated syndromes or conditions, and (4) research on the innate arid adaptive immune responses of the of the genital tract in relation to STIs.

Public Health Relevance

The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center's Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI) Collaborative Research Center will conduct projects that further knowledge of STIs that lead to reproductive tract damage in women. Goals of the Center will be to inform strategies for prevention of disease associated with STIs in women, and to advance vaccine efforts to prevent STIs in both men and women.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
Type
Research Program--Cooperative Agreements (U19)
Project #
5U19AI084024-05
Application #
8529447
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZAI1-MMT-M (M1))
Program Officer
Rogers, Elizabeth
Project Start
2009-09-30
Project End
2014-08-31
Budget Start
2013-09-01
Budget End
2014-08-31
Support Year
5
Fiscal Year
2013
Total Cost
$2,431,573
Indirect Cost
$451,430
Name
University of Pittsburgh
Department
Pediatrics
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
004514360
City
Pittsburgh
State
PA
Country
United States
Zip Code
15213
Zheng, Xiaojing; O'Connell, Catherine M; Zhong, Wujuan et al. (2018) Gene Expression Signatures Can Aid Diagnosis of Sexually Transmitted Infection-Induced Endometritis in Women. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 8:307
Zheng, Xiaojing; O'Connell, Catherine M; Zhong, Wujuan et al. (2018) Discovery of Blood Transcriptional Endotypes in Women with Pelvic Inflammatory Disease. J Immunol 200:2941-2956
Rahman, K Shamsur; Darville, Toni; Wiesenfeld, Harold C et al. (2018) Mixed Chlamydia trachomatis Peptide Antigens Provide a Specific and Sensitive Single-Well Colorimetric Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay for Detection of Human Anti-C. trachomatis Antibodies. mSphere 3:
Taylor, Brandie D; Zheng, Xiaojing; O'Connell, Catherine M et al. (2018) Risk factors for Mycoplasma genitalium endometritis and incident infection: a secondary data analysis of the T cell Response Against Chlamydia (TRAC) Study. Sex Transm Infect 94:414-420
Rahman, K Shamsur; Darville, Toni; Russell, Ali N et al. (2018) Comprehensive Molecular Serology of Human Chlamydia trachomatis Infections by Peptide Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assays. mSphere 3:
Rahman, K Shamsur; Darville, Toni; Russell, Ali N et al. (2018) Discovery of Human-Specific Immunodominant Chlamydia trachomatis B Cell Epitopes. mSphere 3:
Taylor, Brandie D; Zheng, Xiaojing; Darville, Toni et al. (2017) Whole-Exome Sequencing to Identify Novel Biological Pathways Associated With Infertility After Pelvic Inflammatory Disease. Sex Transm Dis 44:35-41
Poston, Taylor B; Qu, Yanyan; Girardi, Jenna et al. (2017) A Chlamydia-Specific TCR-Transgenic Mouse Demonstrates Th1 Polyfunctionality with Enhanced Effector Function. J Immunol 199:2845-2854
Petrina, Melinda A B; Cosentino, Lisa A; Rabe, Lorna K et al. (2017) Susceptibility of bacterial vaginosis (BV)-associated bacteria to secnidazole compared to metronidazole, tinidazole and clindamycin. Anaerobe 47:115-119
Russell, Ali N; Zheng, Xiaojing; O'Connell, Catherine M et al. (2016) Identification of Chlamydia trachomatis Antigens Recognized by T Cells From Highly Exposed Women Who Limit or Resist Genital Tract Infection. J Infect Dis 214:1884-1892

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