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European Federation of Immunology recognizes PhD student's work

Student Inês Lorga, from the MCBiology Doctoral Programme at the University of Porto, was recently awarded a “Bright Sparks Award” for the work she developed at the i3S, under the supervision of researcher Elva Bonifácio Andrade, from the Immunobiology group. This prize, worth €500, was awarded at the European Congress of Immunology, organised by the European Federation of Immunological Societies (EFIS), which took place in Dublin in early September. It was awarded to the 24 best works by young scientists from around two thousand that were submitted.

During her research, and using a mouse model that mimics the pathophysiology of neonatal meningitis caused by the Group B Streptococcus (GBS) bacteria, Inês Lorga “discovered the mechanism through which neonatal infection caused by GBS damages the brain and its protective barriers, leading to lifelong behavioural changes”.

“This bacterium is part of the normal bacterial flora of the intestine and vagina of more than half of adults without causing problems. However, under certain conditions, GBS can cause serious infections. This is especially dangerous for newborns, as well as for some postpartum women and people with a weakened immune system”, explains Inês Lorga.

According to the student, “around 25 percent of healthy pregnant women have GBS in the vagina or rectum, which means that maternal colonisation (when the bacteria is present in the mother) is the main risk factor for GBS being transmitted to the baby, which can lead to the development of diseases in newborns, including meningitis”.

Despite prophylactic treatment with antibiotics, adds Inês Lorga, “it is estimated that 10 to 15 percent of babies die and that around half of those who survive the infection present complex neurological sequelae, which indicates that the processes that lead to brain damage are still not fully understood. It is therefore essential to develop new therapeutic and neuroprotective approaches to protect the developing brain”.

In the meninges the cells of the immune system create a dynamic microenvironment and interact closely with the central nervous system, where they perform crucial functions for the correct functioning of the brain. In this work, the PhD student says, “we found that there is an imbalance in the cell populations present in the meninges, with permanent consequences for normal brain function. Modulation of these cells or the molecules they produce leads to a reduction in brain infection as well as an improvement in the neurological sequelae caused by it".

This work, Inês Lorga stresses, “is extremely important at a time when the incidence of meningitis in newborns is increasing in several countries and there is no effective treatment to combat neurological damage".

For the young researcher, this award represents “international recognition of the quality and importance of our work". Furthermore, she adds, “as I am finishing my doctorate and looking for new opportunities in research, it was very important for me to receive this award for the visibility and confidence it brings me in my training and work".

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