EMVIC

One Health | An interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary networking project investigating the impact of environmental exposure on the microbiome, viral immune responses and children’s health (BMFTR)  

The EMVIC network adopts a One Health approach and addresses a key research gap at the intersection of environmental health, infectious diseases, microbiome research, immunology and public health. The project examines how environmental exposures during pregnancy and early childhood influence the microbiome, the development of the immune system, the risk of infection, the success of vaccination responses, and the long-term health of children and adolescents, based on samples and data from the prospective mother-child cohort LiNA (Lifestyle and environmental factors and their Influence on Newborns’ Allergy risk).

EMVIC focuses on three viral pathogens that are highly relevant to public health and immunomodulation throughout the lifespan: measles viruses, the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and SARS-CoV-2. These viruses are examples of acute (measles, SARS-CoV-2) and persistent (EBV) infections with proven links to immune regulation, vaccine outcomes and, in the case of EBV, to autoimmunity and autoinflammatory processes. Gut bacterial communities and their metabolites are increasingly recognised as important modulators of both susceptibility to infection and vaccine efficacy, with interactions with the immune system, such as immune tolerance and T-cell regulation, playing a central role in this context.

The findings of the EMVIC network will provide a scientific basis for a better understanding of how environmental factors influence immune responses to viral infections and vaccinations, particularly in vulnerable groups such as pregnant women, children and adolescents.

The SARS@EMVIC sub-project at the Helmholtz-Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) investigates how environmental factors, particularly chemical exposure, affect the immune response to SARS-CoV-2. Specifically, it focuses on investigating the cellular immune response in children from the birth cohort before and after the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim is to identify existing environmental factors, such as early chemical exposure, that have a modulating effect on the SARS-CoV-2 immune response. In the next step, in vitro tests will be used to investigate how immunomodulatory chemicals affect the SARS-CoV-2 immune response in human immune cells. This will validate the epidemiological data and allow causal relationships to be established.
 

Scientists involved:

Project Coordinator:

Dr. Gunda Herberth (UFZ)

Project Partners: