Hacking Epidemics: Unlocking The Drivers of Transmission Seasonality to Battle Vaccine-Preventable Diseases

项目摘要-摘要。 人类免疫系统有许多不同的途径来调节对疾病的易感性。最近 研究，如Dopico等人（2014），已经表明免疫系统中的基因表达随 季节，表明免疫和疾病易感性可能是季节性结构。沿着 随着免疫系统的季节性变化，微生物组显示出季节性影响。这两个元件 结合起来，为调查传染病传播和免疫力创造了更好的途径。我们 拟议项目包括两个部分。首先，我们将测试人类肠道微生物组 随着季节的变化而变化（在现代城市环境中生活的人类）。我们将使用生物库 为母DP 5赠款项目收集的样本。微生物DNA将被提取、扩增和测序 来自2019年冬季，春季，夏季和秋季的研究参与者的粪便样本。二是 研究免疫系统产生的细胞因子是否受季节性调节。我们专注于 细胞因子，因为它们有可能与肠道微生物群反馈。细胞因子测定将使用 这些活的免疫细胞也是从研究参与者身上季节性收集的，并保存在我们的生物库中。 肠道微生物组和细胞因子反应的变化将在不同季节的个体内进行分析， 个体之间的比较。总的来说，这个补充项目产生的数据将进一步 了解季节性生物周期，对临床医学和公共卫生有直接影响。 最后，对人体内季节性结构的了解可能会进一步加深我们对为什么传染性疾病 疾病是季节性的。

Project Summary - Abstract. The human immune system has many different pathways that regulate the susceptibility to disease. Recent studies, such as Dopico et al. (2014), have shown that the gene expression in the immune system varies by season, suggesting that immunity and disease susceptibility may be seasonally structured. Along with the seasonal change of the immune system, the microbiome has shown seasonal influence. These two elements combined create an enhanced avenue to investigate infectious disease transmission and immunity. Our proposed project consists of two parts. First, we will test the hypothesis that the human gut microbiome changes with the seasons (in humans living in a modern urban environment). We will do so using biobanked samples collected for the parent DP5 grant project. Microbial DNA will be extracted, amplified, and sequenced from stool samples from study participants sampled winter, spring, summer, and fall 2019. Second, we will investigate whether cytokine production by the immune system is seasonally modulated. We focus on cytokines because they have the potential to feedback with gut microbiota. Cytokine assays will be run using live immune cells that were also collected seasonally from study participants and preserved in our biobank. Variation in the gut microbiome and cytokine response will be analyzed within-individuals across seasons and compared between-individuals. Collectively, the data produced by this supplemental project will further understanding of seasonal biological cycles with direct implications for clinical medicine and public health. Lastly, knowledge of seasonal structuring within the human body may further our knowledge of why infectious diseases are seasonal.