OZR backup mandate: The influence of the gut microbiome on mRNA-based HIV-1 vaccination

Despite the fact that the HIV virus was discovered almost 40 years ago, there is still no protective vaccine. This is in stark contrast to the situation surrounding COVID-19, where several vaccines have been developed in less than a year that provide excellent protection
against the virus. This difference is partly due to the fact that HIV is a very variable virus that affects the immune system, which is
supposed to protect us. That is why we are also looking at ways to boost the immune system so that the virus can be kept under control and patients are less dependent on anti-viral therapy by using so- called therapeutic vaccination, but this has so far not led to a sustainable improvement of the immune system in HIV patients. One of the reasons could be that until now the fact that the interaction between the immune system and the microflora in the gut is a very important factor in both protection against the virus and in the course of the disease has not been taken into account. Therefore, in this project we want to investigate to what extent a new mRNA-based vaccine packaged in lipid nanoparticles can induce immunity in the gut and how the composition of the gut microbiota responds to this. To achieve this goal, we include a comprehensive microbiome analysis and interventional approach in a vaccine-immunized preclinical model.