Objective
1. Objectives
The proposal will investigate the hypothesis that certain chronic persistent infections of humans can be treated by stimulation of the Th1 arm of the specific immune responses, resulting in virus clearance and recovery of the patients. Based on recent data generated from patients recovering from chronic infections with hepatitis B virus (HBV), either spontaneously or after treatment with interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha), we propose to use chronic hepatitis resulting from HBV infection as a model for chronic persistent infections of humans and animals. The findings will have transdisease implications for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C in humans and pestivirus-induced mucosal disease of cattle.
The major objectives of this study are:
1. The development of hepatitis B-specific immune stimulating complexes (iscoms) containing either HBV S, or both S and C proteins;
2. The preparation of plasmid vectors containing the HBV genes coding for the major HBV structural proteins S and C;
3. The assessment of the role of cytokines in HBV clearance by measurement of TH 1- inducing (IL-12, IL-18) and TH 1 (INF-gamma, TNF-alpha) and TH 2 (IL-4, IL-10) effector cytokines in longitudinal plasma samples obtained from chronic hepatitis patients who have resolved their HBV infection following INF-alpha treatment; and
4. An immunological evaluation of different methods of HBV antigen presentation, delivered either in the presence or absence of selected cytokines in order to maximise immunogenicity, including the determination of their TH 1 and CTL promoting capacity, potency and absence of toxicity.
The goal of this study is to provide a rational evaluation of HBV structural proteins delivered either iscoms or as a DNA plasmid, together with selected cytokines, for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B in patients undergoing, or who have recently completed, antiviral drug therapy.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- natural sciences biological sciences microbiology virology
- medical and health sciences health sciences infectious diseases DNA viruses hepatitis B
- natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry biomolecules proteins
- medical and health sciences basic medicine immunology
- medical and health sciences basic medicine pharmacology and pharmacy pharmaceutical drugs antivirals
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Programme(s)
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Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Topic(s)
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Call for proposal
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Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Funding Scheme
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Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Coordinator
NW1 0TU London
United Kingdom
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.