Abstract

The right combination for protection Despite its prevalence, no vaccine exists to protect against infection with the sexually transmitted bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis . Stary et al. now report on one potential vaccine candidate (see the Perspective by Brunham). Vaccinating with an ultraviolet light-inactivated C. trachomatis linked to adjuvant-containing charged nanoparticles protected female conventional and humanized mice against C. trachomatis infection. The vaccine conferred protection only when delivered through mucosal routes. Protection relied on targeting the bacteria to a particular population of immunogenic dendritic cells and inducing memory T cells that resided in the female genital tract. Science , this issue 10.1126/science.aaa8205 ; see also p. 1322