Profiling Antimicrobial Antibody Repertoires in the Female Genital Tract

Sean Stowell of Brigham and Women's Hospital in the U.S. will analyze the human antibody repertoires targeting microbes in the female genital track (FGT) to guide the design and use of live biotherapeutic products for bacterial vaginosis. They will use their microarray platform, consisting of an array of antigens from FGT microbes, to analyze genital tract samples from a cohort of women in an HIV drug clinical study in South Africa. They will define the association between FGT antibody levels and specificity with FGT microbial colonization and inflammation. They will also perform experiments to explore potential mechanisms for antibody-mediated microbial attachment and colonization, focusing on antibody interactions with FGT mucin proteins. Together, the results will set the stage for using the microarray platform to identify patient-specific variables as biomarkers to predict the success of live biotherapeutic products.