6 projects granted under the NUTRIMMUNE call
In February 2022 the call about ‘Nutrition- responsiveness of the immune system: interplay between infectious diseases and diet-related metabolic diseases and the potential for food-based solutions’ (NUTRIMMUNE) was launched. The objective of this joint funding action was to gain a better understanding of the interactions between nutrition and the immunity within the contexts of its interplay between infectious diseases and diet-related metabolic diseases. Submitted proposals needed to focus on at least one of the following topics:
- Establishing the cause and effect relationship between nutrition, immune function and infectious diseases in the context of diet-related metabolic disorders
- Developing innovative food solutions
In total, there were 10 funding organizations from 8 countries (France, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Spain, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom) involved with a total available funding budget of 8,27 million Euro. 25 proposals were submitted and the 6 projects below received funding for their proposals:
DIYUFOOD – from diet to healthy immune system: understanding biological food paths to oppose metabolic syndromes and infectious diseases
The biological pathway from dietary intake to immune response and subsequent diseases is complex. The DIYUFOOD project aims to provide a better understanding of this causal pathways and will examine the association between metabolic syndromes, gut-microbiota derived metabolites and immune response. In this project, researchers from Israel, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom work together.
METARYL – Nutrition and aryl hydrocarbon receptor activation in mesenteric adipose tissue inflammation and intestinal surgical site infections in metabolic syndrome
The METARYL project aims to investigate how diet related tryptophan metabolites, which are produced by the gut microbiota, affect patients with metabolic syndrome to develop an intestinal surgical site infection. This surgical site infection is a frequent and potentially life-threatening complication in patients undergoing colorectal surgery. A risk factor for this is metabolic syndrome, however the mechanism underlying this relationship remains unclear.
OBESIMM – exploring the effects of time-restricted feeding on the immune function of obese individuals: a multi-omic approach
The precise mechanisms by which the immune system of obese subjects fails to adequately respond to pathogens remains unclear, but the adipose low-grade chronic inflammation that accompanies the obese condition seems to play a relevant role. Despite evidence supporting the effectiveness of time-restricted feeding (TRF) diets on the metabolic fitness of obese individuals, their impact on the immune function remains unexplored. On the view of the interplay observed between obesity, nutrition and immune function that outlines the host response to pathogens, the main goal of the OBESIMM project is to define the effect that TRF exerts on the immune function of human obese individuals and how it impacts their immunocompetence.
PreVegDiet – prevention in prediabetic patients of infection’s morbidity following a high fiber and vegetal protein diet
Nutrition and diets can promote the functioning of the immune system as a preventive measure by reducing both inflammation and oxidative stress which increase the risk of developing type 2 diabetes mellites. The main objective of the PreVegDiet project is to study the influence of beneficial diets on the immune system of prediabetic patients and its potential to counteract infections. They will study the influence of a seaweed supplement and a diet rich in components from a Mediterranean diet on an infection in prediabetic subjects. This to provide evidence on the potential of these nutritional interventions to counteract infection, which is relevant to reduce the burden of type 2 diabetes mellitus and obesity.
RESIST-PP – a comprehensive study of the innate immune surveillance against infection during postprandial metabolism
The RESIST-PP project is designed to provide a causal relationship between diet, innate immunity and infection risk by extending the knowledge on postprandial inflammation and atherogenic dyslipidemia. Ingestion of high-fat food results in a transient proinflammatory state via the metabolic endotoxemia pathway sustained by bacterial wall products derived from gut microbiota. This project will define the role of the bacterial-derived metabolites at the postprandial phase in diet-associated sensitivity to infection and in patients with obesity and type 2 diabetes. Furthermore they will also model the interplay between peripheral immune cells, the blood microbiota and the postprandial risk of infection.
TransInf – the effect of diet on immune and vaccine responses in people living with obesity in transitioning communities
It remains unclear to what degree variation in diet directly affects the host defense in people with obesity and whether specific dietary interventions may improve immune responses and vaccine efficacy. The aim of TransInf is to deepen and apply the recent findings in the diet-microbiome- immune axis in healthy, non-obese individuals living in a rapidly urbanizing environment in Tanzania. In this way, they will establish the cause-and-effect relationship between diet and immune function in people with obesity and contribute to the identification of specific foods and food derived metabolites with beneficial immunomodulatory effects. The project builds partially further on the results of the TransMic project, funded under the HDHL-INTIMIC co-funded call of 2017, that also took place in Tanzania.
All projects will start before April 2023 and will run for 3 years.