Investigation of pre-existing immunity to coronaviruses; implications for immunopathology and pathophysiology of COVID-19 disease (360G-Wellcome-220991_Z_20_Z)

£755,818

Background; It is unknown how prior exposure to commonly circulating human coronaviruses (HCoV) impacts immunity against highly-pathogenic species (SARS, SARS-CoV-2 & MERS). There are limited data, across Europe, Asia and Africa, on the prevalence of infection and seroconversion against widely circulating and mildly symptomatic HCoVs (229E, NL63, OC43, and HKU1). There is a current supposition that antibody-dependent-enhancement (ADE) may play a role in the pathophysiology of COVID-19. ADE occurs when non-neutralizing antiviral proteins facilitate virus entry into host cells, leading to increased infectivity in the cells. In such cases, higher viremia has been measured and the clinical course of disease can be more severe. In preclinical animal models, immunopathology was observed after challenge following vaccination with some SARS vaccines. Therefore, concerns have been raised regarding the impact of immunopathology and ADE on prophylactic vaccination against SARS and possibly SARS-CoV-2. Goals: to perform detailed systems serology of pre-existing immunity, in children and adults, from the UK and Africa, towards novel and commonly circulating coronaviruses. Impact: These studies highlight the limited knowledge in the field and a need for a systematic approach to investigate cross-reactive humoral immunity against HCoV to inform the immunopathology and pathophysiology of COVID-19.

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 755818
Applicant Surname Lambe
Approval Committee Epidemic Technical Advisory Panel
Award Date 2020-09-30T00:00:00+00:00
Financial Year 2019/20
Grant Programme: Title Coronavirus
Internal ID 220991/Z/20/Z
Lead Applicant Prof Teresa Lambe
Other Applicant(s) Dr Charles Agoti, Dr Jennifer Hill, Prof Adrian Hill, Prof Andrew Pollard, Prof George Warimwe, Prof Katie Ewer, Prof Tandakha Dieye
Partnership Name Wellcome-DFID Epidemic Preparedness
Partnership Value 1217834
Planned Dates: End Date 2023-06-30T00:00:00+00:00
Planned Dates: Start Date 2020-07-01T00:00:00+00:00
Recipient Org: Country United Kingdom
Region South East