title: Induction of partial immunity in both males and females is sufficient to protect females against sexual transmission of Chlamydia.
abstract: Sexually transmitted Chlamydia trachomatis causes infertility, and because almost 90% of infections are asymptomatic, a vaccine is required for its eradication. Mathematical modeling studies have indicated that a vaccine eliciting partial protection (non-sterilizing) may prevent Chlamydia infection transmission, if administered to both sexes before an infection. However, reducing chlamydial inoculum transmitted by males and increasing infection resistance in females through vaccination to elicit sterilizing immunity has yet to be investigated experimentally. Here we show that a partially protective vaccine (chlamydial major outer membrane protein (MOMP) and ISCOMATRIX (IMX) provided sterilizing immunity against sexual transmission between immunized mice. Immunizing male or female mice before an infection reduced chlamydial burden and disease development, but did not prevent infection. However, infection and inflammatory disease responsible for infertility were absent in 100% of immunized female mice challenged intravaginally with ejaculate collected from infected immunized males. In contrast to the sterilizing immunity generated following recovery from a previous chlamydial infection, protective immunity conferred by MOMP/IMX occurred independent of resident memory T cells. Our results demonstrate that vaccination of males or females can further protect the opposing sex, whereas vaccination of both sexes can synergize to elicit sterilizing immunity against Chlamydia sexual transmission.
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Diseases, Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation (IHBI), Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.|Department of Developmental Immunology, Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics, Freiburg, Baden-Wüttemburg, Germany.
authors.forename: C P
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: O'Meara
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Diseases, Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation (IHBI), Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: C W
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Armitage
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Diseases, Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation (IHBI), Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kollipara
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Diseases, Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation (IHBI), Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.|Department of Infectious Diseases, Centre for Biomedical Research, Burnet Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: D W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Andrew
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Diseases, Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation (IHBI), Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Trim
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Sciences, Neuroscience Laboratory-School of Biomedical Science, Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: M B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Plenderleith
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Diseases, Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation (IHBI), Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: K W
authors.initials: KW
authors.lastname: Beagley
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D058491:Bacterial Load; D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins / Q000276:immunology*; D001428:Bacterial Vaccines / Q000276:immunology*; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002690:Chlamydia Infections / Q000276:immunology*; D023502:Chlamydia muridarum / Q000276:immunology*; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000276:immunology; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004338:Drug Combinations; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007109:Immunity; D007156:Immunologic Memory; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D010743:Phospholipids / Q000276:immunology; D012503:Saponins / Q000276:immunology; D012661:Semen / Q000276:immunology*; D015231:Sexually Transmitted Diseases, Bacterial; D014611:Vaccination
chemical_list: D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins; D001428:Bacterial Vaccines; D004338:Drug Combinations; C493786:ISCOMATRIX; D010743:Phospholipids; D012503:Saponins; C101031:major outer membrane protein, Chlamydia pneumoniae; D002784:Cholesterol