Project description:In this study, we investigated somatic mutations in T cells in patients with various hematological disorders. To analyze immune cell phenotypes with somatic mutations, we performed scRNA+TCRab sequencing from 9 patients with chronic GVHD and clonal expansions of CD4+ or CD8+ T cells based on T cell receptor sequencing. CD45+ PBMCs (lymphocytes and monocytes) were sorted with BD Influx cell sorter and subjected to sequencing with Chromium VDJ and Gene Expression platform (v1.1, 10X Genomics). Sequencing was performed with Novaseq 6000 (Illumina). The immune cell phenotypes were compared to healthy controls processed in the same laboratory (accession number E-MTAB-11170). Due to data privacy concerns, the raw sequencing data is in the European Genome-Phenome Archive (EGA) under accession code [xxxx] and can be requested through the EGA Data Access Committee.
Project description:We introduce and analyze a within-host dynamical model of the coevolution between rapidly mutating pathogens and the adaptive immune response. Pathogen mutation and a homeostatic constraint on lymphocytes both play a role in allowing the development of chronic infection, rather than quick pathogen clearance. The dynamics of these chronic infections display emergent structure, including branching patterns corresponding to asexual pathogen speciation, which is fundamentally driven by the coevolutionary interaction. Over time, continued branching creates an increasingly fragile immune system, and leads to the eventual catastrophic loss of immune control.