Patent ID: 7041466

Claim:
A method of evaluating the efficacy of a therapeutic or prophylactic treatment of Chlamydia -induced disease, comprising the steps of: a) rationally selecting a particular mouse strain and identifying whether said strain is a low nitric oxide (NO) responder strain or a high NO responder strain when said strain is exposed to bacterial antigens; b) rationally selecting a dose of Chlamydia to be administered to a test mouse of said strain; c) if said mouse strain is a low nitric oxide responder, rationally selecting a feeding regimen with high levels of arginine and feeding said test mouse according to said regimen, and if said mouse strain is a high nitric oxide responder, performing at least one step selected from the group consisting of: (i) rationally selecting a feeding regimen with low levels of arginine and feeding said test mouse according to said regimen; and (ii) treating said test mouse with an inhibitor of nitric oxide synthase-2 (NOS2); d) administering said dose of Chlamydia to said test mouse; e) administering said therapeutic or prophylactic treatment to said test mouse; and f) assessing the severity of chlamydial disease in said test mouse.