# Human Vaccine Durability using Integrated Bioinformatics and a Novel in vitro Bone Marrow Mimic

> **NIH NIH U01** · EMORY UNIVERSITY · 2021 · $253,978

## Abstract

Human Vaccine Durability using Integrated Bioinformatics and a Novel in vitro Bone Marrow Mimic.
Abstract:
Long-lived plasma cells (LLPC) sustain protective antibody production for a lifetime and are the cellular basis of
vaccine durability and require the bone marrow (BM) microniche to sustain survival. In our lab, we have
definitively linked the long-lived viral serum antibodies to the BM cellular compartment within the healthy human
BM (CD19-CD38hiCD138+) PC subset thereby establishing the LLPC compartment. We have also developed in
vitro BM microniche cultures that mimic the BM microenvironment to sustain PC survival. In this application, we
plan (1) to develop a novel in vitro biomarker of vaccine durability using this novel in vitro BM mimic and to
dissect the mechanisms of early blood ASC of long-lived vaccines, acute viral infections, compared to short-lived
vaccines, (2) to identify the unique identity of LLPC precursors in the blood early after vaccination, and (3) to
study mechanisms of LLPC generation in disease models of Systemic Lupus Erythematosis which is
characterized by high levels of long-lived antibodies and an abundance of LLPC. In summary, these studies will
distinguish the cellular and molecular programs of LLPC generation and maintenance after immunization.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10453165
- **Project number:** 3U01AI141993-03S1
- **Recipient organization:** EMORY UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Frances Eun-Hyung Lee
- **Activity code:** U01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $253,978
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2021-09-01 → 2022-12-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10453165

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10453165, Human Vaccine Durability using Integrated Bioinformatics and a Novel in vitro Bone Marrow Mimic (3U01AI141993-03S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10453165. Licensed CC0.

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