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The Project

Published 10/02/2026 - Edited 16/02/2026

"SAPIENT" (ShAring Platform of host Immune and non-immune responses to Emerging iN-fecTions) is a repository that aims to bring together data on the host response induced within the first hours/days of the interaction of the cells target of infection and those of innate immunity with viruses and, more generally, with emerging and re-emerging pathogens.

The peculiarity of SAPIENT consists in the integration of results derived from analyses conducted in 2D and 3D cellular systems, which include cells of the innate immune system and of different target tissues, infected in vitro.

SAPIENT therefore represents a "container" in which interested researchers will be able to find space for their research both by depositing their data and by drawing on the datasets already present, thus obtaining useful information for the advancement of their and others' knowledge on the interaction between host and pathogen.
If you want to access the datasets contained in SAPIENT, you will find the request form in the dedicated section together with the information and requirements necessary for the request.

SAPIENT has been developed within the INF-ACT framework

Why

Several experimental approaches have been used to generate integrated information in different 2D and 3D cellular models of infection related to the expression of the bulk or single-cell transcriptome, the secretome, including released molecules related to the inflammatory, redox and/or antiviral state, immunophenotype modifications and markers of activation or differentiation, toxicity and cytotoxicity state.
To complement this panel of analyses focused mainly on the host, microbiological results are also accessible in the same samples to have an overall view that includes both the status of the host and that of the pathogen in the chosen model. In this way, you will have a 360°C view of the host-pathogen interaction, an approach that makes SAPIENT unique.

Who

These results have been achieved through an active and coordinated collaboration among research groups with complementary expertise:
•   Istituto Superiore di Sanità (Lab Eliana Coccia),
•   Ospedale San Raffaele (Lab Nicola Clementi),
•   Università La Sapienza (Lab Lucia Nencioni),
•   Università di Padova (Lab Luisa Barzon)
•   Università Humanitas (Lab Cecilia Garlanda).

SAPIENT aims to extend the list of collaborations to other Italian and foreign groups of researchers interested in the topic, both by expanding the range of datasets by depositing new data and by drawing useful information to expand their research by collaborating in the advancement of specific knowledge in the field of host-pathogen interaction.