IDENTIFICATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF T CELL EPITOPES FROM BACTERIAL PATHOGENS CAUSING PNEUMONIA

About This Grant

The contractor will identify and characterize T cell epitopes in bacteria capable of causing pneumonia through person-to-person transmission in the community (Community Acquired Pneumonia = CAP), as such infections cause significant morbidity and mortality worldwide, and T cell responses against these pathogens are understudied. Leveraging results from previous contracts, the contractor will bioinformatically identify peptide candidates that are then synthesized and screened for recognition by T cells to identify bona fide T cell epitopes. The contractor will identify epitopes in currently uninfected, likely exposed individuals and those who have a confirmed diagnosis and will be followed longitudinally. The contractor will characterize epitopes identified from these large-scale screens for their HLA restriction, their ability to bind different HLA molecules, and their recognition in different patient cohorts.