Telomere loss and T cell aging in HBV vaccine response in HIV-infected individual
Description: As is observed in the elderly, individuals with HIV infection often do not respond well to HBV vaccinations, and overall efforts to boost vaccine responses in HIV-infected individuals have been unsuccessful - in part due to our poor understanding of the underlying mechanisms that can blunt vaccine responses. We and others have shown that chronic viral infection can accelerate premature T cell aging, with telomere loss as a hallmark of cell senescence, although the role and mechanisms underlying this process remain largely unknown. In this proposal, we will further investigate the role and mechanisms of telomere loss and T cell aging in HBV vaccine failure emanating from HIV infection. This study will facilitate our understanding of the fundamental mechanisms underlying immune aging in chronic viral infection and develop effective means to restore immune competence in latently HIV-infected patient. It may also shed light on the shared mechanisms and approaches to improve vaccine efficacy seen in other immunocompromised conditions; it is thus both significant and timely.
Funding type: research
Funder scheme: R21
Start date: 2018-06-21
End date: 2020-05-31
Investigator: ZHI Q. YAO
Institution: EAST TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY
Subfield: Physiology (medical)
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Funded outputs count: 25
Funder award ID: R21AI138598
OpenAlex ID: G4084963429