# Molecular tracking of antigen following vaccination

> **NIH NIH R21** · UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO DENVER · 2022 · $188,825

## Abstract

Project Summary
Live attenuated vaccinations generate both humoral and cellular immune memory, accounting for much of the
increased duration of protective immune memory. As increased protective immune memory to live attenuated
vaccines is of critical importance, understanding the mechanisms of this increased protective immune memory
is essential to improve current vaccines. To this end, we and others have demonstrated that antigens derived
from infectious viral infections persist in the host for extended periods of time, well beyond the time in which
the infection is cleared from the host. Our lab has specifically identified that antigens derived from both
vaccination and viral infections persist or are archived by the host lymphatic endothelial cells LECs, identifying
the source of archived antigens. We have published that this archived antigen maintains a more effector like
pool of antigen specific memory cells which enhances the clearance of a secondary infectious challenge. Thus,
identification of key mechanisms involved in antigen archiving during vaccination is critical for our
understanding of enhanced protective immunity to vaccination. To better understand the mechanisms of
antigen archiving we have developed a “molecular tracking device” that leverages single-cell mRNA
sequencing to track the distribution, acquisition, and retention of antigen in the lymph node and other organs.
This project will elucidate the unique mechanisms behind antigen archiving, how multiple un-related infections
contribute to the kinetics of archived antigens and memory boosting, and the potential cell types in other
tissues that may also contribute to antigen archiving.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10307136
- **Project number:** 5R21AI155929-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO DENVER
- **Principal Investigator:** Beth Ann Tamburini
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $188,825
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2020-11-23 → 2023-10-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10307136

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10307136, Molecular tracking of antigen following vaccination (5R21AI155929-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10307136. Licensed CC0.

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