HEIndividual fellowship2023–2025

METEOR study · MicrobiomE-associaTEd boosters Of immune Responses (METEOR study): experimental charac-terization and clinical exploitation.

Horizon Europe — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

Duration: 2023-09-01 → 2025-12-31
EU contribution: €192,865
Participants: 5
Scheme: HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF

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Results in brief

MicrobiomE-associaTEd boosters Of immune Responses (METEOR study): experimental charac-terization and clinical exploitation.

The human microbiome has emerged as a critical component influencing immune responses and disease outcomes, however, its therapeutic potential remains poorly addressed. While the scientific community has established that microbiota exerts unique roles in immune system induction, instruction, and functionality, most current research remains descriptive rather than functionally explorative. The METEOR (MicrobiomE-associaTEd boosters Of immune Responses) project addresses this critical knowledge gap through an innovative approach that combines experimental and multi-omics methodologies with clinical translation. The project's central objective is to identify and characterize MIcrobiome-associated BOosters of Immune responses to Diseases (MIBOIDs) through a comprehensive screening of distinct microbiota compartments: Whole Bacterial Community (WBC), sterile filtrates of microbial suspensions (SFMS). The project's five specific objectives create a systematic pathway from discovery to clinical application: understanding differences between microbiota compartments across extreme disease response cohorts, characterizing functional microbiota profiles through multi-omics integration, demonstrating direct host-microbiota interactions through in vitro systems, integrating clinical and experimental data through advanced bioinformatics, and establishing robust protocols for MIBOID production suitable for future clinical exploitation. The project's potential to generate "know-how" patents and therapeutic agents represents significant economic impact, potentially revolutionizing treatment cost-effectiveness while improving patient health outcomes. METEOR's comprehensive approach to protocol standardization and open science practices ensures that its methodological innovations will benefit the broader scientific community, and is expected to inspire follow-up studies and leverage additional investment in research and innovation, ultimately contributing to the development of a new class of microbiome-based therapeutic interventions.

Data: CORDIS, © European Union

Project objective

I became fascinated by pathogen-host interactions at the end of my PhD, working with Hepatitis C virus, and later in my first postdoctoral phase working with Influenza A and SARS-2 viruses, when I learned the OMIC technologies power. Finally, I found out about the world of microbiota-associated interactions and how Dr. Serrano’s studies unveiled these complex networks with a clinical perspective. Most microbiota studies are based on the description of the different bacterial species profiles. How-ever, the interactions between the byproducts derived from cells and bacteria can affect reciprocally to host and microbial metabolism, modifying the outcome of the disease. With my expertise on experi-mental settings, Dr Serrano’s clinical-research view, and the strong collaborations with expert partners in bioinformatics and multi-omics, for my next career step I aim to develop experimental strategies to better identify new potential therapeutic agents. Specifically, to clinically exploit MIcrobiome-associated BOosters of Immune responses to infectious Diseases (MIBOIDs) that define the nature of the host-microbiota interaction I will implement a protocol based on directed culturomics, immune stimulations assays, bacterial species description and multi-omic toolbox to characterize the functional immune profiles associated with highly protective immune responses, and data mining through a mul-tiparametric bioinformatic integration approach. We aim to test several conditions such as describing gut microbiota from different compartments, microbial communities from localized disease-related tissues, and to describe the most functionally relevant. Finally, after the production and validation of the specific candidates in vitro, this project will lead to future validation in preclinical and clinical studies to get specific MIBOIDs to be exploited as therapeutic agents aimed at improving disease-specific immune responses, prevention and cure for several diseases.

Original text from CORDIS.

Participants

FUNDACION PARA LA INVESTIGACION BIOMEDICA DEL HOSPITAL UNIVERSITARIO RAMON Y CAJAL · MadridCoordinatorSpain
Mikrobiomik Healthcare Company · DerioSpain
UNIVERSITETET I OSLO · OsloNorway
Universitetet i Oslo · OsloNorway
University of Colorado Denver · AuroraCity levelUnited States

METEOR study · MicrobiomE-associaTEd boosters Of immune Responses (METEOR study): experimental charac-terization and clinical exploitation.

Results in brief

MicrobiomE-associaTEd boosters Of immune Responses (METEOR study): experimental charac-terization and clinical exploitation.

Project objective

Participants

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