Year: 2024
Type: preprint
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Infants exposed to HIV but uninfected (iHEU) display altered cellular immunity and are at increased risk of infection through poorly understood mechanisms. We previously reported that iHEU have lower levels of maternal microchimerism (MMc), maternal cells transferred to the offspring in utero/during breastfeeding. We evaluated MMc levels in T cell subsets in iHEU and HIV unexposed infants (iHU) to determine whether a selective deficiency in MMc may contribute to altered cellular immunity. Across all infants, MMc levels were highest in CD8+ T cells; however, the level of MMc in the CD8 T cell subset was significantly lower in iHEU compared to iHU.
Authors: Blair Armistead, M. Quinn Peters, John Houck, Marc Carlson, Christina Balle, Nolawit Mulugeta, Clive M. Gray, Heather B. Jaspan, Whitney E. Harrington
Language: English
Topic: HIV Research and Treatment
Subfield: Virology
Field: Immunology and Microbiology
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: green
Awards: The Effect of Maternal Cells on Infant Immunity, Diseases of Public Health Importance Training Grant, Impact of HIV exposure, feeding status, and microbiome on immune ontogeny and vaccine responses in infants, The Maternal Immune Legacy of In Utero HIV Exposure, Mucosal microbiome and vaccine responses in HIV-exposed African infants, Academic Pediatric Infectious Disease
OpenAlex ID: W4392377087