The PERSIMUNE biobank is located at the Department of Immunology, Rigshospitalet. All departments at Rigshospitalet that have a collaborative agreement on biobank sampling with PERSIMUNE can collect samples for future research on defined patient cohorts with impaired immunity. Sample collection was initiated in 2015 and is still ongoing. Departments have so far collected samples from approximately 10500 patients, as illustrated in the overview below.

The PERSIMUNE biobank stores whole blood, plasma, feces, BAL (bronchoalveolar lavage) fluid and pellet and sputum (ekspektorat) samples, as well as DNA isolated from feces. The distribution of these different sample types is shown in the overview below:

It is fantastic if you are interested in using PERSIMUNE samples for research! The first step to accessing samples is to submit a feasibility request to identify if samples are available for your patient cohort of interest. If samples are available, the next step is to submit a project proposal. You can read more about this process at https://www.persimune.dk/How-to-get-involved.

• When planning a project, please have the following in mind:
• • It is a prerequisite that you obtain an ethical committee approval (including dispensation from consent).
• • All samples belong to the Region H department that has collected them. Therefore, the respective department/s need to approve use of their samples in your project. You can always suggest a collaboration with the department which has collected samples.
• • If you are an external researcher, you may be able to develop a project through collaboration with PERSIMUNE.
• • You must be able to cover the cost of picking samples and the cost of subsequent analyses.

Feel free to e-mail us if you need help in understanding this process persimune.rigshospitalet@regionh.dk.

Otherwise, you can also find inspiration on research performed on the biobank samples here https://www.persimune.dk/About-us/Videos

If you are looking for information on the general procedures concerning informed consents and sample collection, please go to https://www.persimune.dk/PERSIMUNE-Documents/PERSIMUNE-biobank-documents.

Contact

Charlotte Matthews, persimune.rigshospitalet@regionh.dk

Publications of interest

1. Sample storage conditions significantly influence faecal microbiome profiles. Jocelyn M Choo, Lex EX Leong, Geraint B Rogers. Scientific Reports 5:16350, DOI: 10.1038/srep16350. Report
2. Fecal microbiota analysis: an overview of sample collection methods and sequencing strategies. Vincent Thomas, James Clark, Joël Doré.Future Microbiol. (2015) 10(9), 00–00. Review
3. The Effects of Freezing on Faecal Microbiota as Determined Using MiSeq Sequencing and Culture-Based Investigations. Fiona Fouhy, Jennifer Deane Mary C. Rea, Órla O’Sullivan, R. Paul Ross, Grace O’Callaghan, Barry J. Plant, Catherine Stanton. PLoS ONE 10(3): e0119355. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0119355. Article
4. Comparison of methods for fecal microbiome biospecimen collection. Christine Dominianni, Jing Wu, Richard B Hayes, Jiyoung Ahn. Microbiology 2014, 14:103. Article
5. Relating the metatranscriptome and metagenome of the human gut. Franzosa EA, Morgan XC, Segata N, Waldron L, Reyes J, Earl AM, Giannoukos G, Boylan MR, Ciulla D, Gevers D, Izard J, Garrett WS, Chan AT, Huttenhower C. . Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2014 Jun 3;111(22):E2329-38. doi: 0.1073/pnas.1319284111. Epub 2014 May 19. PubMed PMID: 24843156; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC4050606. Article
6. Sampling and pyrosequencing methods for characterizing bacterial communities in the human gut using 16S sequence tags. Wu GD, Lewis JD, Hoffmann C, Chen YY, Knight R, Bittinger K, Hwang J, Chen J, Berkowsky R, Nessel L, Li H, Bushman FD.  BMC Microbiol. 2010 Jul 30;10:206. doi: 10.1186/1471-2180-10-206. PubMed PMID: 20673359; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC2921404. Article