Project description
Dissecting immunological mechanisms important for vaccine design
Dendritic cells are the professional antigen-presenting cells of the immune system and have the inherent capacity to detect infection in the body, directing T cell immune responses. The scope of the EU-funded plasTCD project is to shed light on the mechanism by which dendritic cells influence responses of memory T cells upon second encounter with a pathogen. The work will focus on influenza (flu) epitopes, and using various phenotypic and functional approaches, researchers will characterise antigen-specific T cell recall responses following stimulation by dendritic cells. Results will generate important knowledge on dendritic cell communication with T cells, with direct implications for vaccine and immunotherapy design.
Objective
The human immune system has the ability to fight various infectious diseases or self-cells turning malignant. Dendritic cells (DCs) are innate immune sensors and professional antigen presenting cells that initiate the development of adaptive immune responses towards the formation of memory cells. Very important studies deciphered the various signals in DCs to effectively polarize naïve T cells. However, a significant gap of knowledge remains on how DCs can mediate and influence antigen-specific T cell recall responses.
In this program, we aim to investigate how the different human DC subsets can modulate antigen-specific T cell recall responses directed against influenza (Flu) epitopes. To this end, we have designed a set of highly integrated work packages:
WP1: Using a systematic experimental approach of challenging co-cultures of pure DCs (6 different subsets) and Flu-specific T cells from healthy subjects, we will generate a functional atlas revealing the impact of the different DC subsets on antigen-specific T cell recall responses. T cell response status will be assessed at the protein level using phenotypic and functional approaches on multimer positive T cells.
WP2: Using CITE-seq technology together with cutting-edge system biology platforms, we will interrogate the transcriptomic programs and molecular pathways associated with antigen-specific T cell recall responses following stimulation with the various DC subsets.
WP3: As a complementary analysis of the data generated in WP2, we will perform TCR repertoire analysis to compare the clonal composition of the responding antigen-specific T cells.
This program represents an ambitious and promising project that will generate novel biological insights into fundamental immunological mechanisms of human DC-T cell communication. Such information could have direct clinical impact on the design of therapeutic DC-based vaccines, immunotherapies targeting DCs or T cell expansion protocols for adoptive transfer therapy
Fields of science
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesbiochemistrybiomoleculesproteins
- medical and health scienceshealth sciencesinfectious diseasesRNA virusesinfluenza
- medical and health sciencesbasic medicineimmunology
- medical and health sciencesbasic medicinepharmacology and pharmacypharmaceutical drugsvaccines
- engineering and technologyelectrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineeringelectronic engineeringsensors
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)Coordinator
75654 Paris
France