The Effect of Leukocyte Dna mEthylation and micRoBIOME Diversity on Host Defense Mechanisms During Community-acquired Pneumonia (ELDER-BIOME)

Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) represents a major health care problem and mortality and morbidity associated with severe pneumonia remain considerable, despite state of the art care. While the role of altered DNA methylation in cancer has been widely studied, knowledge of its impact on antibacterial defense is highly limited. In addition, recent preclinical studies showed that the gut and respiratory microbiota contributes to host defense against bacterial pneumonia. This study aims to explore a completely novel research area linking the extent of DNA methylation in blood leukocyte (monocytes and neutrophils) and function of gut and respiratory microbiota on the influence of innate immune responses to and host defense against CAP