Description du projet
Réponses immunitaires antivirales: une guerre des sexes
Les hommes testés positifs à la COVID-19 sont plus susceptibles de nécessiter des soins intensifs que les femmes. Ils sont également plus susceptibles de mourir. Les données mettent en évidence des différences entre les sexes dans les réponses immunitaires à l’infection virale. En quête de réponses, le projet SHIFT, financé par l’UE, étudiera la régulation sexospécifique des réponses immunitaires. En analysant le système immunitaire des personnes qui suivent un traitement à base d’hormones sexuelles pour changer de sexe, le projet examinera la contribution de ces hormones au fonctionnement du système immunitaire antiviral humain. L’identification des voies régulées par les hormones sexuelles dans l’immunité antivirale sera précieuse pour la conception de vaccins, les thérapies antivirales et les traitements immunomodulateurs.
Objectif
COVID-19 severity and mortality are consistently higher in men than women. Still, the mechanisms that underlie sex differences in human antiviral immunity remain poorly understood. Therefore, investigating sex-specific regulation of immune responses is a critical step for developing novel and effective antiviral therapies. The overarching goal of SHIFT is to dissect the precise contribution of sex hormones to human antiviral immune function by studying the immune system of individuals as they undergo sex-reassignment therapy with sex hormones. The three specific aims proposed are 1) to evaluate the sex hormone contribution to viral infection susceptibility, 2) to characterize sex hormone effects on the immune-microbe interactions and balance, and 3) to assess sex hormone effects in antiviral immune responses during infection. SHIFT will combine the experienced researcher’s advanced knowledge in sex hormone regulation of immune function and metabolism, with the host lab’s state-of-the-art multi-omics technologies, advanced expertise in systems immunology analysis and established collaborations in Sweden. Aims will be achieved during a planned 24-month training at Karolinska Institutet that involve technical training (sample collection and processing), analytical training (integrative computational analysis and statistics), and development of transferrable skills (project management, mentoring, leadership and communication). The two-way transfer of knowledge in SHIFT will lead to implementation of new techniques, mentoring of trainees, and identification of sex-hormone regulated pathways in antiviral immunity that will be valuable for vaccine design, antiviral therapies and immunomodulatory therapies at large. Further, the MSCA fellowship will provide a strong training path in systems immunology to lead the fellow towards academic independence in the EU and support her career goals of becoming an investigator studying immunological basis of disease susceptibility.
Champ scientifique
- social sciencessociologydemographymortality
- medical and health sciencesbasic medicineimmunology
- medical and health scienceshealth sciencesinfectious diseasesRNA virusescoronaviruses
- medical and health sciencesbasic medicinepharmacology and pharmacypharmaceutical drugsvaccines
- medical and health sciencesbasic medicinepharmacology and pharmacypharmaceutical drugsantivirals
Mots‑clés
Programme(s)
Régime de financement
MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)Coordinateur
17177 Stockholm
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