Pilotproject "Systems comparative Immunology to study novel zoonotic vaccines across different mammalian species"

Acronym: OneHealth Vaccine - VRP

Zoonotic infections such as pulmonary tuberculosis cause chronic and deadly pathology in wildlife, livestock and humans. So far new vaccines against tuberculosis focus on single species solutions. However, in light of the WHO OneHealth concept, development of zoonotic vaccines against zoonotic infections should be of highest priority. Yet, investigations of the immunogenicity of the same vaccine against the same pathogen across different species are lacking. Therefore, this project focuses on systematically comparing the immune response to new zoonotic vaccines between different natural host species and experimental animal models. So far, such efforts were limited by the tools available to study the immune system in wildlife or livestock compared to studies in humans or small animal models. Single cell transcriptomics (scRNAseq) offers the opportunity to expand our tool set and knowledge of primary immune cells in understudied but relevant species in the context of zoonotic diseases. In this 1-year pilot project, we aim to compare the in vitro response of immune cells from mucosal sites and peripheral blood to the current vaccine BCG and Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis Virus Replicon Particle (VRPs), a novel zoonotic vaccine concepts against tuberculosis and other zoonotic infections across several mammalian species. At the same time, the goal is to gain more insight into the characteristics of mucosal and peripheral antigen presenting cells across different species using systems comparative immunology. This pilot project can foster new collaborations and technology transfer between different laboratories with a focus on zoonotic diseases.

Contact

Björn Corleis, PhD
Group Leader Mucosal Immunology and Vaccinology
Institute for Immunology
Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut
Federal Research Institute for Animal Health
Südufer 10 | 17493 Greifswald - Insel Riems
Tel: +49 38351 7 1529/1199
https://www.fli.de/

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