GENEVAX Version 1.0
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Gene Expression Profiling in Vaccinations to Unravel the Biology of Prognosis
IRAS ID
252444
Contact name
Ken Smith
Contact email
Duration of Study in the UK
3 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
The immune system is a complex network of cells, tissues, and organs that work together to protect the body from infections and maintain health. Occasionally, the immune system can hit the wrong target and attack normal parts of the body, giving rise to autoimmune diseases like type 1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis and vasculitis. The immune response varies a lot between different people. Some individuals respond better to infections and vaccinations than others, and autoimmune diseases can be very aggressive in some people and take a mild course in others. New tests are needed to predict the course of the immune response, and tailor treatment accordingly.
Over the last decade, we have set up a translational research programme to uncover molecular mechanisms that drive the course of immune-mediated diseases. We have identified a pattern of active genes in circulating immune cells, namely CD8+ T lymphocytes, that predicts clinical outcome in the setting of different immune-mediated conditions. We call this pattern of gene expression a prognostic signature.
The prognostic signature likely reflects common mechanisms that play a key role in a wide range of immune responses. Getting a better understanding of the underlying biology therefore promises to shed light on processes that are clinically relevant in many conditions. Vaccination represents an ideal experimental setting to achieve this goal. We will employ vaccines (namely, for yellow fever and influenza) in order to stimulate the immune system and elicit the prognostic signature in healthy volunteers in a safe, standardised and reproducible manner. Blood samples will be collected before each of the 2 vaccinations and at different times afterwards, in order to study gene activation profiles and the immune response. The derived insight will be relevant not only to vaccination, but also to a wide range of conditions including autoimmune disease, infection and cancer.REC name
East of England - Cambridge East Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
19/EE/0226
Date of REC Opinion
14 Nov 2019
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion