Defining the immune response to nasopharyngeal colonisation by the commensal Neisseria lactamica (360G-Wellcome-203581_Z_16_Z)

£298,900

Upper respiratory tract colonisation by the commensal Neisseria lactamica (Nlac) protects against meningococcal disease. The ability to harness this natural effect could simplify our strategy for disease prevention, however the associated mechanism is currently unknown. There is no evidence to suggest that this effect is due to bacterial competition, and the production of cross-reactive meningococcal serum bactericidal antibody does not occur. I therefore postulate that an alternative adaptive cross-reactive immune mechanism may be responsible for protection against meningococcal disease. My strategy is to firstly compare the effects that Nlac and N. meningitidis (Nmen) have on naïve T-cell priming. I will subsequently utilise a human challenge model to characterise the T-cell/B-cell memory responses induced by Nlac colonisation. If a T-cell memory response is detectable in Nlac colonised participants, I will characterise it. If not, I will identify the mechanism of immune tolerance in vitro. Finally, I will determine whether specific mucosal immunological signatures are associated with Nlac/Nmen/non-Neisseria spp. carriage. The results will improve our understanding of host-commensal interactions and inform future vaccine design, particularly in cases where commensal species are utilised as immunogen vectors, or where the elimination of mucosal carriage is paramount.

Where is this data from?

This data was originally published by The Wellcome Trust. If you see something about your organisation or the funding it has received on this page that doesn't look right you can submit a grantee amendment request. You can hover over codes from standard codelists to see the user-friendly name provided by 360Giving.

Grant Details

Amount Awarded 298900
Applicant Surname Dale
Approval Committee Clinical Interview Committee
Award Date 2016-06-29T00:00:00+00:00
Financial Year 2015/16
Grant Programme: Title Research Training Fellowship
Internal ID 203581/Z/16/Z
Lead Applicant Dr Adam Dale
Partnership Value 298900
Planned Dates: End Date 2020-11-01T00:00:00+00:00
Planned Dates: Start Date 2017-05-01T00:00:00+00:00
Recipient Org: Country United Kingdom
Region South East
Sponsor(s) Prof Robert Read