Detail

Keywords

Adjuvants, Immunologic; Animal models; Antigens; Chlamydia Infections; Drug Administration Routes; Host-Pathogen Interactions; Immunity, Mucosal; Innate Immunity; Tetanus; Vaccinology

Research group(s)

• Inic-Kanada
  Head: Aleksandra Inic-Kanada
  Research Area: Chlamydia, Chlamydial infection, Host-pathogen interactions, Mucosal immunity, Mucosal vaccination, Vaccine development
  Members:
  Viktoria Fischer
  Aleksandra Inic-Kanada
  Veronika Mrkus
  Anna Pfundner

Research interests

Our research focuses on the immunobiology of Chlamydia infection and on understanding why host immune responses lead either to protection or to pathology. Using mouse and guinea pig models, we study how infection influences inflammation, adaptive immunity, and tissue remodeling at mucosal sites. An important part of our work is translating these mechanistic insights into vaccine development. We systematically test antigens, adjuvants, and routes of immunization to connect basic immunology with experimental vaccination strategies and to develop rational approaches for the prevention of chlamydial disease.

We also investigate how host physiological conditions influence vaccine responses. Using obesity as a model of metabolic imbalance, we examine the kinetics of immune cell activation after vaccination, including responses to tetanus toxoid as a defined reference antigen. Our aim is to understand how altered immune homeostasis affects early activation events and the durability of protective immune responses.

Techniques, methods & infrastructure

Animal models: mice and guinea pigs. Various in vitro and ex vivo models for the measurement of immune response after infection and vaccination.  

Grants

• OMV-Based Trivalent Vaccine against Chlamydia; Grant DOI 10.55776/PAT2723725 (2026)
  Source of Funding: FWF (Austrian Science Fund), Principal Investigator Projects
  Principal Investigator
• Uncovering Vaccine Immune Response Dynamics in Obesity; Grant DOI 10.55776/PAT6619324 (2024)
  Source of Funding: FWF (Austrian Science Fund), Principal Investigator Projects
  Principal Investigator
• Unveiling a local immune response in chlamydial infection; Grant-DOI 10.55776/PAT5452224 (2024)
  Source of Funding: FWF (Austrian Science Fund), Principal Investigator Projects
  Principal Investigator

Selected publications

1. Geissler, N. et al. (2023) “Obesity increases allergic airway inflammation that can be successfully treated by oral tolerance,” Allergy. Edited by , 79(2), pp. 529–533. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1111/all.15989.
2. Frohns, A. et al. (2021) “Effects of water-filtered infrared A and visible light (wIRA/VIS) radiation on heat- and stress-responsive proteins in the retina and cornea of guinea pigs,” Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology B: Biology. Edited by , 224, p. 112306. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jphotobiol.2021.112306.
3. Inic-Kanada, A. et al. (2020) “Water-filtered Infrared A and visible light (wIRA/VIS) treatment reduces Chlamydia caviae-induced ocular inflammation and infectious load in a Guinea pig model of inclusion conjunctivitis,” Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology B: Biology. Edited by , 209, p. 111953. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jphotobiol.2020.111953.
4. Stojanovic, M. et al. (2020) “Cross-Reactive Effects of Vaccines: Heterologous Immunity between Tetanus and Chlamydia,” Vaccines. Edited by , 8(4), p. 719. Available at: https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines8040719.
5. Inic-Kanada, A. et al. (2016) “A Probiotic Adjuvant Lactobacillus rhamnosus Enhances Specific Immune Responses after Ocular Mucosal Immunization with Chlamydial Polymorphic Membrane Protein C,” PLOS ONE. Edited by D.M. Ojcius, 11(9), p. e0157875. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0157875.