BIOVACSAFE – Newsletter June 2016 Issue number 7 Dear colleagues and followers of BioVacSafe, We are pleased to present to you the seventh issue of the BioVacSafe Project Newsletter. We would like to offer the opportunity to update you on the project activities and progress.Please don’t  hesitate to forward this mail to anyone who could  be interested  in reading it.  If they want to receive their own e-newsletter in the future they can subscribe on our website via the link below.We hope you will enjoy reading our latest news,  Best regards, The BioVacSafe Coordination Team Subscribe to this newsletter Project NewsBioVacSafe 4th Annual General MeetingThe Fourth BioVacSafe General Annual Meeting was held on March 9-11th in Lyon (France). More than 70 participants from 18 institutions came together to share and discuss the project progress and plan the activities for the next year. BioVacSafe Participants at the Fourth General Annual MeetingThe General Annual Meeting agenda was structured to present and discuss the achievements, issues and challenges raised  during the last year of the project. The meeting officially started on March 10th with an introductive session, chaired by Giuseppe del Giudice (GSK Vaccines S.r.l.), in which Kent Kester (Sanofi Pasteur) welcomed everybody to Lyon and wished a successful meeting. Then, Bruno Guy gave a keynote lecture on Dengue vaccine development at Sanofi Pasteur, highlighting the challenges and the perspectives for the future. The subsequent sessions presented the main project progresses and achievements.   Active and constructive discussions amongst BioVacSafe partners took place during all scientific sessions. The meeting was closed with the feedback and recommendations of the External Advisory Board and the concluding remarks of the Project Coordinator, David Lewis (University of Surrey).Here you can find the Proceedings of the General Annual Meeting BioVacSafe Partners ProfileIn every biannual newsletter the profile of some of BioVacSafe’s research partners is highlighted. In this edition you will meet the University of Gothenburg in Gothenburg, Sweden, and the University of Siena in Siena, Italy.     University of GothenburgUniversity of Gothenburg (UGOT) represents one of the most research-oriented universities in Sweden.  Much of the medical research in the Sahlgrenska  Academy, one        of the 8 faculties in UGOT, is centered on integration of basic research into more patient-oriented research and to create translational centers in which clinical issues and biomedical expertise meet and create new ways of studying the mechanisms behind  diseases  and   developing   new   intervention   strategies, including vaccines. UGOT has a long-standing recognition in the field of vaccines and adjuvants. The University’s list of renowned researchers includes the Physiology-Medicine Nobel Prize laureate Arvid Carlsson. Prof. Ali Harandi and UGOT Team working in BioVacSafeWithin BioVacSafe project, Dr. Ali Harandi’s team in University of Gothenburg in collaboration with GSK Vaccines, Max Plank Institute, and CEA is responsible for discovery of transcript biomarkers of immunosafety of the Varicella Zoster Virus vaccine Varilrix in mice and non-human primates. This includes genome wide transcriptomics combined with systems biology analysis of the site of injection, whole blood and the draining lymph nodes following administration of Varilrix in naïve and primed animals. Results from genome wide transcriptomics studies identified early transcript signatures in blood and site of injection following immunization with Varilrix. Systems biology analysis, including co-expression analysis of differently expressed genes induced by Varilrix revealed biological pathways and biofunctions exclusive to Varilrix. Non-human primate studies are planned to pinpoint blood signatures of Varilrix in naïve and primed animals.   University of SienaThe University of Siena (UNISI), founded in 1240, is one of the oldest universities in Italy with a great tradition of medical and humanistic studies. Today, with over 770 years of history, UNISI maintains a leading role on the national and international scene.      The institution has about 2100 employees and 14000 students, shared among its 15 Departments. The Laboratory of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology (LA.M.M.B.) is part of the Department of Medical Biotechnology and has extensive experience in the field of vaccines and  bacterial  pathogenesis. In the context of the BioVacSafe project, UNISI is involved in Work Package 2 “Establishment of reliable in vivo animal models and in vitro models predicting early inflammation and autoimmune diseases”, where is responsible for studying the biomarker expression in the context of acute bacterial infections in pre-clinical models and in humans. During the last years, UNISI characterized the key role of IFN-γ in driving the pathogenesis of meningitis by serotype 4 Streptococcus pneumoniae, and the results were published in Frontiers of Microbiology (Pettini et al. “IFN-γ from brain leukocytes enhances meningitis by type 4 Streptococcus pneumoniae” , Front Microbiol., 2015 6:1340.doi:10.3389/fmicb.2015.01340). UNISI is also conducting human studies to identify biomarkers of acute pneumococcal infection. Gene expression analysis on collected PBMC is conducted with a next generation sequencing approach.UNISI Team working in BioVacSafe (from left-to-right): Fabio Fiorino, Elena Pettini, Matteo Morandi, Annalisa Ciabattini, Gianni Pozzi, Donata Medaglini, Francesco Santoro.Furthermore UNISI is the leader of Work Package 9 “Communication, dissemination and ethics”, whose main objective is to maximize the project  impact  and  raise  awareness  on  its  outputs  and  results. UNISI is responsible for the official project website and the communication tools such as project newsletters, factsheet and publications acknowledging BioVacSafe. Metrics analyses show that 6458 people up to now visited the BioVacSafe web site for a total of 10263 visits with a constantly growing number of visitors (63% new visitors). More than 77% of visitors are located in Europe and 23% distributed worldwide, mainly in America and Southern Asia. As part of the efficacious communication of the knowledge generated by the project, 23 publications with BioVacSafe acknowledgment have appeared in peer reviewed journals, and several conference presentations acknowledging BioVacSafe have been made at international events.New Publications produced by BioVacSafe project Reprogramming the T Cell Response to TuberculosisJoshua S. Woodworth, Peter AndersenTrends Immunol., 2016 Feb;  37(2):81-3. doi: 10.1016/j.it.2015.12.009. Epub 2016 Jan 5Coscolla, Copin et al. recently used comparative genomics of M. tuberculosis (Mtb) strains to show that most human T cell-recognized epitopes are hyperconserved, but bona fide variable epitopes also  exist.  This  identification of two sets of antigens implies opposing evolutionary processes and will have an important impact on tuberculosis (TB) vaccine strategy and design.  yperconserved, but bona fide variable epitopes also  exist. This  identification of two sets of antigens implies opposing evolutionary processes and will have an important impact on tuberculosis (TB) vaccine strategy and design.  Interferon-γ from Brain Leukocytes Enhances Meningitis by Type 4 Streptococcus pneumoniaePettini Elena, Fiorino Fabio, Cuppone Anna Maria, Iannelli Francesco, Medaglini Donata, Pozzi GianniFrontiers of Microbiology, 2015 Dec 01;  doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2015.01340Streptococcus pneumoniae is the leading cause of bacterial meningitis. Pneumococcal meningitis is a life-threatening disease with high rates of mortality and neurological sequelae. Immune targeting of S. pneumoniae is essential for clearance of infection; however, within the brain, the induced inflammatory response contributes to pathogenesis. In this study we investigate the local inflammatory response and the role of IFN-γ in a murine model of pneumococcal meningitis induced by intracranial injection of type 4 S. pneumoniae.  Epigenetics and Proteomics Join Transcriptomics in the Quest for Tuberculosis BiomarkersEsterhuyse M.M., Weiner J. 3rd, Caron E., Loxton A.G., Iannaccone M., Wagman C., Saikali P., Stanley K., Wolski W.E., Mollenkopf H.J., Schick M., Aebersold R., Linhart H., Walzl G., Kaufmann S.H.MBio., 2015 Sep 15; 6(5):e01187-15. doi: 10.1128/mBio.01187-15.An estimated one-third of the world’s population is currently latently infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Latent M. tuberculosis infection (LTBI) progresses into active tuberculosis (TB) disease in ~5 to 10% of infected individuals. Diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers to monitor disease progression are urgently needed to ensure better care for TB patients and to decrease the spread of TB. Biomarker development is primarily based on transcriptomics. Upcoming events  Upcoming interesting CONFERENCES are:12th Annual Conference of the Metabolomics Society 27–30th June 2016,  Dublin, Ireland. More information can be found hereInternational Congress of Immunology – ICI 2016 21st –26th August 2016, Melbourne, Australia. More information can be found here10th Vaccine Congress 4-7th September 2016, Amsterdam, the Netherlands. More information can be found hereSummer Frontiers 2016 – Systems Biology of Innate Immunity 7-9th September 2016, Nijmegen, the Netherlands. More information can be found hereMucosal Vaccines, Adjuvants & Delivery 14-16th September 2016, CHUV/University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.     More information can be found here10th ISV  Annual Vaccine Congress 2nd-4th October 2016, Boston, USA. More information can be found here16th  Annual Meeting of the Society for natural immunity 2nd-5th October 2016, Taormina, Italia.  More information can be found hereWorld Vaccine Congress Europe 10-12th October 2016, Fairmont Rey Juan Carlos, Barcelona.                                      More information can be found here       Upcoming interesting COURSES are:Computational Microbiology and Microbiome-Based Medicine 17-24th July 2016, Lipari, Italy. More information can be found hereEMBO / FEBS Lecture course: The new microbiology 24th August-1st September 2016, Spetses, Greece.  More information can be found here BioVacSafe PublicationsList of publications acknowledging BioVacSafe:Reprogramming the T cell response to tuberculosis Woodworth J.S. and Andersen P. Trends Immunol., 2016 37(2):81-3. doi:10.1016/j.it.2015.12.009 Interferon-γ from brain leukocytes enhances meningitis by Type 4 Streptococcus pneumoniae  Pettini E., Fiorino F., Cuppone A.M., Iannelli F., Medaglini D., Pozzi G. Front Microbiol., 2015 6:1340.doi:10.3389/fmicb.2015.01340 Epigenetics and proteomics join transcriptomics in the quest for tuberculosis biomarkers  Esterhuyse M.M., Weiner J. 3rd, Caron E., Loxton A.G., Iannaccone M.,  Wagman C., Saikali P., Stanley K., Wolski W.E., Mollenkopf H.J., Schick M., Aebersold R., Linhart H., Walzl G., Kaufmann S.H.MBio., 2015 6(5):e01187-15. doi: 10.1128/ mBio.01187-15 Partial attenuation of RSV with a deletion of the SH gene is associated with elevated IL-1B Russell R.F., McDonald J.U., Ivanova M., Zhong Z., Bukreyev A., Tregoning J.S.  Journal of Virology, 2015 89(17):8974-81. doi: 10.1128/JVI.01070-15 Evaluating the efficiency of isotope transmission for improved panel design and a comparison of the detection sensitivities of mass cytometer instruments Tricot S., Meyrand M., Sammicheli C., Elhmouzi-Younes J., Corneau A., Bertholet S., Malissen M., Le Grand R., Nuti S., Luche H., Cosma A. Cytometry A., 2015 87(4):357-68. doi: 10.1002/cyto.a.22648 The human immune response to tuberculosis and its treatment: a view from the blood Cliff J.M., Kaufmann S.H.E., McShane H., van Helden P., O’Garra A. Immunological Reviews, 2015 264(1):88-102.doi:10.1111/imr.12269 Vaccines, new opportunities for a new society Rappuoli R., Pizza M., Del Giudice G., De Gregorio E. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A., 2014 111(34):12288-93. doi:10.1073/ pnas.140298111 Toward a unified biosignature for tuberculosis Maertzdorf J., Kaufmann S.H., Weiner J. 3rd. Cold Spring Harb Perspect Med., 2014 pii:a018531.doi:10.1101/ cshperspect.a018531 Novel vaccination strategies against tuberculosis Andersen P. and Kaufmann S.H.E. Cold Spring Harb Perspect Med, 2014 doi:10.1101/cshperspect.a018523.4(6): a018523    Challenges and responses in human vaccine development Kaufmann S.H.E , Mc Elrath M.J., Lewis D.J.M., Del Giudice G. Curr. Opin. Immunol, 2014 doi:10.1016/ j.coi.2014.01.009 Reverse translation in tuberculosis: neutrophils provide clues for understanding development of active disease Dorhoi A., Iannaccone M., Maertzdorf J., Nouailles G., Weiner J. 3rd, Kaufmann S.H.E. Frontiers in Immunol., 2014 doi:10.3389/fimmu.2014.00036  Tuberculosis vaccine development at a divide Kaufmann S.H.E Curr Opin Pulm Med., 2014 20(3):294-300. doi:10.1097/ MCP.0000000000000041 Progress in tuberculosis vaccine development and host-directed therapies—a state of the art review Kaufmann, S.H.E., Lange C., Rao M., Balaji K.N., Lotze M., Schito M., Zumla A.I., Maeurer M. Lancet Respir Med., 2014 2(4):301 -20. doi: 10.1016/S2213-2600 (14)70033-5 Recent advances towards tuberculosis control: vaccines and Biomarkers Weiner J. 3rd & Kaufmann S.H.E. J Intern Med, 2014 275(5):467-80. doi:10.1111/ joim.12212 TRANSVAC workshop on standardisation and harmonisation of analytical platforms for HIV, TB and malaria vaccines: ‘How can big data help?’ Dutruel C., Thole J., Geels M., Mollenkopf H.J., Ottenhoff T., Guzman C.A., Fletcher H.A., Leroy O., Kaufmann S.H. Vaccine, 2014 32(35):4365-8. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2014.06.014 Standardization and simplification of vaccination records  Maurer W., Seeber L., Rundblad G., Kochhar S., Trusko B., Kisler B., Kush R., Rath B. Expert Review of Vaccines, 2014 13(4):545-59. doi:10.1586/14760584. 2014.892833 The dual role of biomarkers for understanding basic principles and devising novel intervention strategies in tuberculosis Weiner J. 3rd, Maertzdorf J., Kaufmann S.H. Ann N Y Acad Sci., 2013 1283:22-9.doi:10.1111/j.1749-6632.2012. 06802.x OMIP-016: Characterization of antigen-responsive macaque and human T– cells  Guenounou S., Bosquet N., Dembek C.J., Le Grand R., Cosma A. CytometryPART A, 2013  83(2):182-4. doi: 10.1002/cyto.a.22233 Tuberculosis vaccines: time to think about the next generation Kaufmann S.H.E. Seminars in Immunology, 2013 25:172-181. doi:10.1016/j.smim.2013.04.006 Defining the range of pathogens susceptible to ifitm3 restriction using a knockout mouse model  Everitt A. R., Clare S., McDonald J.U., Kane L., Harcourt K., Ahras M., Lall A., Hale C., Rodgers A., Young D. B., Haque A., Billker O., Tregoning J. S., Dougan G., Kellam P.  Plos one, 2013  8(11):e80723.doi:10.1371/journal.pone. 0080723 Inflammation in tuberculosis: interactions, imbalances and interventions Kaufmann S.H.E. and Dorhoi A. Curr. Opin. Immunol., 2013 25: 441–449. doi:10.1016 /j.coi.2013.05.005 Enabling biomarkers for tuberculosis control  Maertzdorf J., Weiner J. 3rd, Kaufmann S.H.E.  Int J Tuberc Lung Dis., 2012 16(9):1140-8. doi:10.5588/ijtld.12. 0246 Tuberculosis vaccine development: strength lies in tenacity Kaufmann S.H.E. Trends in Immunol., 2012 33(7):373-9. doi:10.1016/j.it.2012 .03.004    BIOVACSAFE contactsBIOVACSAFE_ProjectManagement@surrey.ac.uk  – http://www.biovacsafe.eu  This project is supported by the grant n° 115308 from the Innovative Medicines Initiative JU, a joint undertaking between the European Union and the EFPIA companies’ in kind contribution.