Grant: Project Grant

Babies are particularly vulnerable to infections. This is mostly due to the lack of previous encounter, which means that their immune system has not yet learned to quickly fight the specific pathogen causing the infection. In addition, the immune system in babies differs from that in adults to an extent that we do not yet understand in its entirety. Ideally, people should be vaccinated very early after birth leading to protection throughout life, but it is not well known which immune components are required for a good, long-lasting immune induction in the young organism. In this project, we use a murine model of Rotavirus infection. Rotavirus induces strong dehydrating diarrhea in young infants and causes the death of more than 200,000 children annually world-wide despite the availability of vaccines. Natural rotavirus infection leads to very efficient immunity, protecting pups in a murine infection model from reinfection later in life. The model is therefore perfect to dissect in detail what is required for this strong, specific immune response. We will address the role that specific cells of the immune system play in the training of the immune system to rotavirus, which, if relevant, could then be specifically targeted by vaccines. We will pay specific attention to the role that breastmilk plays, as we know that antibodies in the breastmilk can protect suckling pups from infection with Rotavirus. We aim to identify the ways in which breastmilk blocks infection while still allowing the baby's immune system to mature, equipping the growing child with the weapons needed to fight off infections throughout life in a safe and efficient manner. Together, we hope that our work will yield a deeper fundamental understanding regarding immune protection at early age, facilitating safe and efficacious vaccine design tailored to the young.