RML intern to present research in D.C.
by JOHN CRAMER - Ravalli Republic
Lacey Taylor’s affinity for bugs and baking has earned her two big honors recently.
At a symposium Friday in Washington, D.C., the Rocky Mountain Laboratories scientist will present her team’s latest research into a bacterium that causes sexually transmitted infections, blindness and other diseases.
The results, which are part of RML’s effort to find a vaccine against chlamydia, are to be published in the scientific journal “Infection and Immunity.”
Earlier this summer, Taylor also won a blue ribbon for her chocolate cream pie at the Ravalli County Fair, an honor that’s gotten her a little good-natured ribbing from her fellow researchers.
“It’s been a big year for me,” she said, smiling.
Taylor, 30, graduated from Lincoln High School in 1996 and received an undergraduate degree in microbiology from the University of Montana in 2001.
She’s on track to receive a doctoral degree next year in integrated microbiology and biochemistry at UM, where she is part of the Graduate Partnerships Program between the university and the National Institutes of Health.
The NIH program provides top graduate students at 12 universities nationwide with a stipend, tuition and health insurance while they conduct biomedical research.
The University of Montana and Rocky Mountain Laboratories have been part of the GPP program since 2004. RML is part of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, which is part of the NIH.
RML scientists collaborate with UM faculty to teach courses in Missoula, and the scientists serve as mentors for the students during their time at the Hamilton lab.
About a half dozen UM students are currently at RML researching infectious diseases under the GPP program, including Taylor.
At the Hamilton lab, she is part of a team led by Harlan Caldwell, who has researched Chlamydia trachomatis for more than 30 years.
The bacterium cause a range of diseases that afflict hundreds of millions of people worldwide, including sexually transmitted infections and blinding trachoma, according to the World Health Organization and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In 1975, Caldwell found that blood from people with different chlamydial diseases all appeared to have antibodies against the same protein antigen from Chlamydia trachomatis.
The researchers realized this antigen - a substance that stimulates production of infection-fighting antibodies - was vital to the disease’s development.
But they shelved their work because no effective genetic and molecular techniques existed at the time to study it further.
Several years ago, Caldwell revived the research and oversaw work that identified the bacterial antigen as a member of the polymorphic membrane protein D gene family, or PmpD.
Caldwell and his RML colleagues found that antibodies against PmpD react against all 15 varieties of Chlamydia trachomatis. The antibodies effectively prevent chlamydia from growing in cultures of human epithelial cells.
The researchers also discovered that antibodies to unrelated antigens on the surface of the chlamydia bacteria can block PmpD antibodies from neutralizing chlamydia infections, which helps the bacteria to evade the body’s immune defenses.
That’s where Taylor comes in. She’s studying the structure and function of PmpD, trying to understand its bio-chemical and immuno-chemical features.
Using electron microscopes, she and her teammates found that the PmpD has flower-like structures on its surface.
They also found that the protein cleaves late in the infection and takes on dissolvable forms that allow persistent infections that avoid the immune system.
Taken together, the results suggest PmpD is important in the development of chlamydial diseases and could be a key target for a vaccine, Taylor said.
Potential treatments that stimulate antibodies against PmpD might provide immunity and protection against the infections.
Taylor said the goal is to identify the virulence factors - or molecules produced by a pathogen - that govern chlamydia’s persistent infections and to determine whether the PmpD proteins are good vaccine targets.
Taylor, who is co-lead author on the study along with Kena Swanson, will make oral and poster presentations at the fifth annual Graduate Partnership Program Student Research Symposium in Washington, D.C.
Of the 500 GPP students nationwide, Taylor was one of eight selected to make an oral presentation.
“I’m excited and nervous,” she said. “It’s been a really fun project to work on and it’s been well received in the field. It’s generated considerable enthusiasm.”
Caldwell, who is the study’s senior author, said the next step is testing potential vaccines on mice and non-human primates within two years.
He praised Taylor’s work.
“She’s made great strides and accomplishments,” Caldwell said. “She’s been very valuable to this research. Young people take time and training, but the rewarding thing is to see the outcome of their efforts.”
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Reporter John Cramer can be reached at 363-3300 or jcramer@ravallirepublic.com.
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