Precision Nutrition to Optimize Immune Response for Metabolic Health: NUTRIMMUNE

Programme(s): HORIZON.3.1 - The European Innovation Council (EIC)

Topic(s): HORIZON-EIC-2023-PATHFINDERCHALLENGES-01-03 - EIC Pathfinder Challenge: Precision Nutrition

Call for proposal: HORIZON-EIC-2023-PATHFINDERCHALLENGES-01

Funding Scheme: HORIZON-EIC - HORIZON EIC Grants

Grant agreement ID: 101162457

Objective:

NUTRIMMUNE examines how dietary factors affect immune responses across varying degrees of obesity-related Noncommunicable Disease (NCD) severity. This focus is crucial given obesity’s link to NCDs and infection risks. The project gathers 6 academic groups and 1 SME across 4 European countries over 4 years and a €4.3M grant to evaluate the interplay between nutrition, glycome, microbiome, and immune health in obesity and immune impairment.

NUTRIMMUNE leverages partners: i) Access to European databases and biobanks, enabling in-depth analysis at cellular and molecular levels, ii) Proficiency in conducting dietary intervention studies in human subjects, and iii) Experience in mechanistic and functional diet-glycome-microbiome interactions.

In WP1, the project deciphers phenotypic, multi-omics, and dietary factors responsible for variability in Immune Checkpoint (ICP) expression and immune impairment in existing cohorts. WP2 focuses on a 24-week precision nutritional intervention to assess the potential of a pro-immune diet to restore T cell fitness in obese subjects. WP3 conducts comprehensive profiling before and after the dietary intervention, examining innate and adaptive responses, cytokine patterns, alongside ICP labeling. WP4 provides mechanistic aspects on how the diet, glycome, microbiome influence immune health. WP5 employs machine learning models to identify predictive markers and signatures for ICP expression and altered immunity, to identify dietary patterns and food affecting immune function. WP6 ensures efficient project management and effective coordination, ethics compliance, dissemination, and exploitation. WP7 explores synergies with portfolio projects for challenge goals.

The project’s goal is to move from our novel idea that precision nutrition influences immunity via microbiome and glycome, and present validated proof-of-concept evidence for nutritional recommendations and future food development.