KKG Group of Clinical Pharmacology ("EKLiP")
- Head: Prof. Dr. Stefan Endres
- Institution: Division of Clinical Pharmacology
The aim of this project is to characterize the immune response in a large number of individuals after yellow fever vaccination (live vaccine YF-17D) and simultaneously analyze the genetic variations in each subject. For this purpose, 250 subjects will be recruited and the genetic information (genotype) will be correlated with the individual immune response (phenotype) after viral infection. This approach will identify genetic or phenotypic biomarkers that predict the efficacy of yellow fever vaccination and may translate to predictions of individual immune responses to other viruses.
Description of the project:
The reactions of the immune system to viral infections are highly complex and, despite major advances in immunology, only incompletely elucidated. Many findings are largely based on studies with mouse inbred strains. Why individuals respond differently to the same virus or viral vaccine (vaccine) is poorly understood.
This question can be studied in a cohort of individuals in which responses to a virus are analyzed from the onset of infection using a standardized procedure. A live vaccine is used as a model for viral infection, by which humans are specifically infected with an attenuated virus to achieve active immunization and thus protection against the pathogen.
To this end, a prospective observational cohort study was initiated within the Clinical Pharmacology Unit. In this study, the early responses of innate immunity and specific immune responses of the adaptive immune system against live yellow fever vaccine in adults will be examined in detail during the first four weeks after vaccination and correlated with the genotypes of those vaccinated.
Source: HMGU