Project description:In this study, we evaluated global Mtb-induced gene expression in airway immune cells obtained by bronchoalveolar lavage of individuals with latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) and in Mtb-naïve control subjects We used microarrays to detail the global programme of gene expression evaluating the impact of localized T cells subsets in the recall responses of individuals with LTBI
Project description:In this study, we evaluated global Mtb-induced gene expression in airway immune cells obtained by bronchoalveolar lavage of individuals with latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) and in Mtb-naïve control subjects We used microarrays to detail the global programme of gene expression evaluating the impact of localized T cells subsets in the recall responses of individuals with LTBI
Project description:In this study, we evaluated global Mtb-induced gene expression in airway immune cells obtained by bronchoalveolar lavage of individuals with latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) and in Mtb-naïve control subjects We used microarrays to detail the global programme of gene expression evaluating the impact of localized T cells subsets in the recall responses of individuals with LTBI
Project description:We studied components of TB immunity that remain impaired after cART in the lung compartment, versus those that are restored by concurrent 3 months of once weekly isoniazid and rifapentine (3HP) and cART in the rhesus macaque (RM) model of LTBI and Simian Immunodeficiency Virus (SIV) co-infection. Concurrent administration of cART+3HP did improve clinical and microbiological attributes of Mtb/SIV co-infection compared to cART-naïve or -untreated RMs. While RMs in the cART+3HP group exhibited significantly lower granuloma volumes after treatment, they, however, continued to harbor caseous granulomas with increased FDG uptake. cART only partially restores the constitution of CD4+ T cells to the lung compartment in co-infected macaques. Concurrent therapy did not further enhance the frequency of reconstituted CD4+ T cells in BAL and lung of Mtb/SIV co-infected RMs compared to cART, and treated animals continued to display incomplete reconstitution to the lung. Furthermore, the reconstituted CD4+ T cells in BAL and lung of cART+3HP treated RMs exhibited an increased frequencies of activated, exhausted and inflamed phenotype compared to LTBI RMs. cART+3HP failed to restore the effector memory CD4+ T cell population that was significantly reduced in pulmonary compartment post SIV co-infection. Concurrent therapy was associated with the induction of Type I IFN transcriptional signatures and led to increased Mtb-specific TH1/TH17 responses correlated with protection, but decreased Mtb-specific TNF responses, which could have a detrimental impact on long term protection.
Project description:We applied a cell population transcriptomics strategy to sorted human memory CD8 T cells to define novel immune signatures of latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) and understand the phenotype of tuberculosis (TB)-specific T cells. We found a 41-gene signature that could discriminate between memory CD8 T cells from healthy LTBI subjects and noninfected controls. The gene signature was dominated by genes known to be associated with mucosal associated invariant T cells (MAITs) and reflected the lower frequency of MAITs observed in individuals with LTBI. There was no evidence for a conventional CD8 T cell specific signature between the two cohorts. We therefore investigated the MAITs in more detail in these cohorts. Phenotyping based on Vα7.2 and CD161 expression and MR1 tetramers revealed 2 distinct populations of CD8+Vα7.2+CD161+ T cells: MR1 tetramer+ and MR1 tetramer−, both of which had a distinct gene expression profile compared to CD8 memory T cells. Transcriptomic analysis of LTBI vs. noninfected individuals did not reveal significant differences for MR1 tetramer+ cells. However, gene expression of MR1 tetramer− cells showed a very different profile with large inter-individual diversity and a TB-specific signature. This was further strengthened by a more diverse TCR-α and -β repertoire of MR1 tetramer− cells as compared to MR1 tetramer+. Thus, cell population transcriptomics revealed a dominant MAIT signature in CD8 memory T cells that upon detailed investigation provided novel insights into the phenotype of different MAIT populations implicated in tuberculosis.