# Integrative Omics of HepB Vaccine Response in Co-Infection with Parasites

> **NIH NIH U19** · DREXEL UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $1,779,124

## Abstract

Summary:
In parts of Africa, there is a heavy burden of parasitic diseases, including intestinal worms of several
genera, collectively called helminths, and malaria. Some recent studies have implicated the worms in
particular, in biasing the immune response towards a Th2 phenotype resulting in alteration of T cell
and B cell responses. In fact recent work in mice has shown that pre-existing infection with
Schistosoma mansoni down-regulates anti-HepB antibody levels and reduces response to vaccine
and multiple reports have indicated that helminthic infections may be a contributing cause for weak
responsiveness to the vaccines. However, very little information is available on the influence of
parasites in general or helminth in particular on host immune response to vaccines in humans.
A second critical contributor to diseases and many physiological parameters in humans is the
microbiome. The intestinal microbiome has been shown to be related to a broad range of human
diseases including many viral and metabolic diseases. Despite this emerging recognition that the
microbiome has profound effects on immune and inflammatory processes in mammals, the effects of
the microbiome on vaccine responses are less well defined. Our major hypothesis is that parasitic
infection will alter the HepB vaccine response by modifying the state of the innate immune
system and microbiome complexity, thereby qualitatively compromising the de novo priming
of vaccine-induced T cell and B cell immunity. Our objective is to integrate and develop immune
models of the molecular and sub-network signatures that characterize host response to HepB
vaccination from low to high helminth burden, by using innovative bioinformatics and systems biology
analyses.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10246591
- **Project number:** 3U19AI128910-04S1
- **Recipient organization:** DREXEL UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Elias K Haddad
- **Activity code:** U19 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $1,779,124
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2017-08-10 → 2022-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10246591

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10246591, Integrative Omics of HepB Vaccine Response in Co-Infection with Parasites (3U19AI128910-04S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-21 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10246591. Licensed CC0.

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