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A clinical protocol for a German birth cohort study of the Maturation of Immunity Against respiratory viral Infections (MIAI).

Frontiers in immunology

Authors: Carina R Hartmann, Robin Khan, Jennifer Schöning, Maximilian Richter, Maike Willers, Sabine Pirr, Julia Heckmann, Johannes Dirks, Henner Morbach, Monika Konrad, Elena Fries, Magdalene Winkler, Johanna Büchel, Silvia Seidenspinner, Jonas Fischer, Claudia Vollmuth, Martin Meinhardt, Janina Marissen, Mirco Schmolke, Sibylle Haid, Thomas Pietschmann, Simone Backes, Lars Dölken, Ulrike Löber, Thomas Keil, Peter U Heuschmann, Achim Wöckel, Sagar, Thomas Ulas, Sofia K Forslund-Startceva, Christoph Härtel, Dorothee Viemann

INTRODUCTION: Respiratory viral infections (RVIs) are a major global contributor to morbidity and mortality. The susceptibility and outcome of RVIs are strongly age-dependent and show considerable inter-population differences, pointing to genetically and/or environmentally driven developmental variability. The factors determining the age-dependency and shaping the age-related changes of human anti-RVI immunity after birth are still elusive.

METHODS: We are conducting a prospective birth cohort study aiming at identifying endogenous and environmental factors associated with the susceptibility to RVIs and their impact on cellular and humoral immune responses against the influenza A virus (IAV), respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The MIAI birth cohort enrolls healthy, full-term neonates born at the University Hospital Würzburg, Germany, with follow-up at four defined time-points during the first year of life. At each study visit, clinical metadata including diet, lifestyle, sociodemographic information, and physical examinations, are collected along with extensive biomaterial sampling. Biomaterials are used to generate comprehensive, integrated multi-omics datasets including transcriptomic, epigenomic, proteomic, metabolomic and microbiomic methods.

DISCUSSION: The results are expected to capture a holistic picture of the variability of immune trajectories with a focus on cellular and humoral key players involved in the defense of RVIs and the impact of host and environmental factors thereon. Thereby, MIAI aims at providing insights that allow unraveling molecular mechanisms that can be targeted to promote the development of competent anti-RVI immunity in early life and prevent severe RVIs.

CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: https://drks.de/search/de/trial/, identifier DRKS00034278.

Copyright © 2024 Hartmann, Khan, Schöning, Richter, Willers, Pirr, Heckmann, Dirks, Morbach, Konrad, Fries, Winkler, Büchel, Seidenspinner, Fischer, Vollmuth, Meinhardt, Marissen, Schmolke, Haid, Pietschmann, Backes, Dölken, Löber, Keil, Heuschmann, Wöckel, Sagar, Ulas, Forslund-Startceva, Härtel and Viemann.

PMID: 39355253

Participating cluster members