# PERSISTENCE OF IMMUNE RESPONSES TO THE RECOMBINANT ZOSTER VACCINE IN IMMUNE COMPROMISED HOSTS WITH END-STAGE RENAL DISEASE WITH AND WITHOUT KIDNEY TRANSPLANTATION

> **NIH NIH U01** · UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO DENVER · 2024 · $704,735

## Abstract

Project Summary
People with immunocompromising conditions, including end stage renal disease (ESRD) and renal
transplantation, are at increased risk of developing severe infections. Vaccination is the preferred mode of
protection against infections but people with the highest risk of infectious morbidity tend to have poor responses
to vaccines. The recombinant zoster vaccine (RZV) showed excellent efficacy in healthy adults ≥50 years of age
and lower immunogenicity and efficacy in transplant recipients. The goal of this study is to define the immunologic
and metabolomic profiles associated with decreased magnitude and persistence of immune responses to RZV
in people with ESRD before and after transplantation. We will use plasma and PBMC collected in a study of RZV
in ESRD sponsored by GlaxoSmithKline, in which participants receive the standard 2-dose RZV immunization
regimen while awaiting renal transplantation and are then followed for 31 months. Transplanted participants on
stable immunosuppression are randomized to receive a 3rd dose of RZV or not and are followed for 12 additional
months. Responses of these immunocompromised hosts are compared with responses of healthy adults ≥50
years of age, who received RZV in previous studies. Research questions will be addressed in the following Aims:
Aim 1. Identify immunologic and metabolomic correlates of reduced persistence of immune responses
to RZV in people with ESRD. We will compare adaptive and innate memory responses to RZV in 50 ESRD
and 50 healthy older adults using flow cytometric and single cell immunogenomic approaches and identify factors
associated with persistence. Using systems and computational immunology approaches, we will identify pre-
vaccination phenotypic, functional, and genomic immune cell profiles, and inflammatory and metabolomic
characteristics associated with decreased responses to RZV in people with ESRD. Associations of inflammatory
factors and/or metabolites with characteristics that hamper the immune responses to RZV will be verified in vitro.
Aim 2. Define the effect of renal transplantation and of a 3rd dose of vaccine on immune responses to
RZV. We will compare adaptive and innate memory responses to a 3rd dose of RZV administered to 30 transplant
recipients with responses to the standard RZV regimen in 50 healthy and 50 ESRD older adults using flow
cytometry and single cell immunogenomics. We will analyze the T-cell repertoire to define the effect of induction
regimens and of the 3rd dose of RZV on the persistence of RZV-expanded T cell clones. We will determine pre-
vaccination immunologic and metabolomic profiles associated with responses to the 3rd dose of RZV in transplant
recipients.
Impact. This study will identify actionable inflammatory and/or metabolomic factors and immunogenomic
characteristics associated with decreased responses to RZV in people with ESRD with and without
transplantation and will determine if a 3rd dose of RZV can mitigate the negative e...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10763964
- **Project number:** 2U01AI141919-06
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO DENVER
- **Principal Investigator:** ADRIANA WEINBERG
- **Activity code:** U01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $704,735
- **Award type:** 2
- **Project period:** 2019-03-06 → 2029-02-28

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10763964

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10763964, PERSISTENCE OF IMMUNE RESPONSES TO THE RECOMBINANT ZOSTER VACCINE IN IMMUNE COMPROMISED HOSTS WITH END-STAGE RENAL DISEASE WITH AND WITHOUT KIDNEY TRANSPLANTATION (2U01AI141919-06). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10763964. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*