# Immune Responses Resource Core

> **NIH NIH U54** · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · 2021 · $142,712

## Abstract

SEX AND AGE DIFFERENCES IN IMMUNITY TO INFLUENZA (SADII) IMMUNE RESPONSES RESOURCE
CORE SUMMARY
Under the leadership of Dr. Patricia Gearhart (Director) and Dr. Sabra Klein (Co-Director), the Immune
Responses Core will provide the serological, cellular, and genetic assays that will be necessary for the
accurate, and consistent measurement of sex and aged differences in immune responses to influenza
vaccines and viral antigens. The Core will provide serological assessment of antibody responses to influenza
vaccine and virus antigens for Research Projects 1, 2, and 3. The serological assessments will include
microneutralization assays, hemagglutinin (HA) inhibition assays, and ELISAs to detect IgG that is specific for
diverse influenza virus proteins, including HA, neuraminidase (NA), and the M2 protein as well as IgM and IgG
isotypes to evaluate somatic hypermutation and class switching. The Core will also be responsible for
conducting cellular analyses of antigen-specific (i.e., HA, NA, M2) B cells in humans and mice by flow
cytometry using the MMI BD Immune Function Core facility. Particular attention will be paid to the
quantification of plasmablasts and germinal center cells, including memory B cells and the recently
characterized Age-associated B cells (ABCs). Finally, using the MMI Genomics and Analysis Sequencing
Core, we will analyze the transcriptional variation associated with sex and age by transcriptional profiling
antigen-specific B cells (i.e., plasmablasts) in humans and mice (Projects 1, 2, and 3). The transcriptional
analyses will include using deep sequencing to quantify transcriptional activity in plasmablasts to evaluate the
pathways differentially regulated by age and sex. Following repeated exposures to influenza antigens through
infection and vaccination, an immune repertoire develops that reflects clonal selection during the primary
response and recall and somatic rearrangement of VH genes following subsequent exposures, including
following vaccination. V gene repertoires will be compared and analyzed for sex and age associated
differences following vaccination. Together, the SADII Immune Responses Core will provide an in-depth
analysis of how sex, age, and frailty alter antibody responses, B cell phenotypes, and B cell genotypes in
response to influenza vaccination. With serological, cellular, and genomic assay capabilities, the SADII
Immune Responses Resource Core can provide services to investigators interested in characterizing influenza
virus-specific immune responses, which is currently not available at Johns Hopkins, and to SCOREs at other
institutions that are seeking to measure inflammatory and immune markers of diverse diseases, beyond
influenza.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10213175
- **Project number:** 5U54AG062333-04
- **Recipient organization:** JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** SABRA L. KLEIN
- **Activity code:** U54 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $142,712
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-09-30 → 2023-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10213175

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10213175, Immune Responses Resource Core (5U54AG062333-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10213175. Licensed CC0.

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