MAIT cells are depleted early but retain functional cytokine expression in HIV infection

Caroline S Fernandez; Thakshila Amarasena; Anthony D Kelleher; Jamie Rossjohn; James McCluskey; Dale I Godfrey; Stephen J Kent

Journal article

MAIT cells are depleted early but retain functional cytokine expression in HIV infection

Caroline S Fernandez, Thakshila Amarasena, Anthony D Kelleher, Jamie Rossjohn, James McCluskey, Dale I Godfrey, Stephen J Kent

IMMUNOLOGY AND CELL BIOLOGY | NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP | Published : 2015

DOI: 10.1038/icb.2014.91

Abstract

Mucosal-associated invariant T (MAIT) cells home to mucosal sites and exert antimicrobial activity against bacteria and other microorganisms. HIV infection leads to early depletion of gut T cells and translocation of bacterial products. There are reports that MAIT cells, defined by coexpression of Vα7.2 and CD161, are depleted during HIV infection and residual MAIT cells are functionally impaired. However, one study suggested that MAIT cells might remain after HIV infection but evade detection through CD161 downregulation. Thus, the impact of HIV infection on MAIT cells is unclear. We studied longitudinal blood samples from 31 HIV-infected subjects for MAIT cell numbers, phenotype and functi..

View full abstract

University of Melbourne Researchers

Dale Godfrey Author Microbiology and Immunology

Stephen Kent Author Microbiology and Immunology

James McCluskey Author

Jamie Rossjohn Author Microbiology and Immunology

Related Projects (6)

HIV & HCV Vaccines and Immunopathogenesis

The development of vaccines and better treatments for HIV-AIDS and Hepatitis C are urgent global health priorities. This Program will undert..

HIV & HCV VACCINES AND IMMUNOPATHOGENESIS - SUPPORT FUNDING

The development of vaccines and better treatments for HIV-AIDS and Hepatitis C are urgent global health priorities. This Program will undert..

IMMUNE REGULATION EFFECTOR FUNCTION AND THERAPY

We seek to understand how white blood cells detect and destroy disease, and how molecules of the immune system punch holes in diseased cells..

IMMUNE REGULATION EFFECTOR FUNCTION AND THERAPY

We seek to understand how white blood cells detect and destroy disease, and how molecules of the immune system punch holes in diseased cells..

RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP 2007 - GODFREY

I am an immunologist, working to understand the function of NKT cells, and how these cells can be manipulated as a means of immune therapy f..

The role that Natural Killer T cells, a subset of white blood cells, play in controlling AIDS virus infection

nan

Grants

Awarded by Australian National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC)

Awarded by NHMRC postgraduate scholarship

Funding Acknowledgements

We thank Drs Lars Kjer-Nielsen and Alexandra Corbett, University of Melbourne, for providing the new generation MR1 tetramers, MAIT ligands and MR1: C1R cells, and for sharing MAIT-cell activation methodologies. We thank Drs David Fairlie and Ligong Liu, Institute for Molecular Biology, University of Queensland for providing the MAIT cell ligands. We thank the doctors and nurses who recruited the subjects in the early HIV-infection cohort and the study subjects themselves. Supported by Australian National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) awards 510448, 455350, 1013667, 454309 and 508309, NHMRC Research Fellowships to DIG and SJK and an NHMRC postgraduate scholarship (629002) to CSF.