Back
For best output, select "Paper Size" as "A4" and "Margin" as "0" or "None".
To save or print to PDF, please select Print Destination > Save as PDF, enable Background Graphics under "More Settings", then click "Save".
During the congress, E-Posters will be accessible to all participants on the congress website 24/7, as well as in the E-poster stations in the congress center.
Preparing your E-Poster
Please review the E-Poster format requirements carefully when preparing your E-Poster. Should your E-Poster not meet the mentioned requirements, it may not be displayed as described above.
E-Poster Submission Deadline
Please prepare and upload your E-Poster no later than March 14, 2026 11.59PM CET. After this date, you will no longer be able to prepare and upload your E-poster and it will not be displayed and accessible on the congress website.
Please follow the instructions below to input your abstract title.
Abstract titles should be brief and reflect the content of the abstract.
T cell fate following antigen encounter is regulated by the cell-extrinsic environment via the mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) – so-called “Signal 4”. In mice and non-human primates, inhibition of mTOR complex 1 (mTORC1) with rapamycin biases activated T cells towards a memory precursor fate and improves cellular immunity to vaccination and viral challenge.
We investigated rapamycin as an adjuvant to improve T cell response to SARS-CoV-2 vaccination in kidney transplant recipients. The effect of rapamycin treatment versus alternative immunosuppression regimens was assessed by activation-induced marker assay and IFNγ-ELISpot in an observational study (n=55), and in a multicentre, randomised, controlled trial (N=54). The broad effect of rapamycin on the peripheral immune system was investigated using a novel single-cell transcriptomics methodology called STAMP.
Rapamycin use was associated with a 12-fold greater T cell memory response to primary vaccination than tacrolimus-based immunosuppression (520 versus 43 spot-forming units/106 cells, P<0.001). In both mice and patients, mTOR inhibition was associated with functional and phenotypic improvements in CD4+ and CD8+ T cell compartments. Randomising kidney transplant recipients to switch from mycophenolate to rapamycin prior to booster vaccination was well tolerated, however did not improve live virus neutralisation (10/25 [40%] versus 9/21 [43%], respectively, P = 0.85) nor T cell memory formation (P = 0.89). Single cell transcriptomic analysis of >2 million peripheral blood mononuclear cells from kidney transplant recipients (N = 6) and healthy cohabitants (N = 4) revealed broad changes in the peripheral immune system associated with rapamycin treatment, and enrichment of gene signatures associated with reduced clonal contraction after vaccination.
mTOR inhibition is associated with improved T cell memory formation in humans, however further research is needed to understand and harness this effect to improve vaccine response in vulnerable groups. A trial is underway in people receiving haemodialysis.
