Exposure to Human Immunodeficiency Virus Is Associated With Altered Composition of Maternal Microchimeric T Cells in Infants
Human immunodeficiency virus-exposed but uninfected infants (iHEU) display altered immunity and are at increased risk of infection. We previously reported that iHEU have decreased maternal microchimerism (MMc)-maternal cells transferred to the offspring in utero/during breastfeeding. We quantified MMc in T-cell subpopulations in iHEU and HIV-unexposed infants (iHU) to determine whether a selective deficiency in MMc contributes to altered cellular immunity. Across all infants, MMc levels were highest in CD8+ T cells; however, the level of CD8+ T-cell MMc was lower in iHEU versus iHU. In limited functional studies, we did not identify cytomegalovirus-specific MMc during infant primary infection.
Authors
- MP Peters (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9832-3219)
- Clive M. Gray (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9293-901X)
- Marc Carlson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0847-4011)
- Christina Balle (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3439-3992)
- Heather B. Jaspan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0745-6073)
- Blair Armistead (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9902-3955)
- Nolawit Mulugeta
- Whitney E. Harrington (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0121-978X)
- J. C. Houck (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6761-6796)
Institutions
- Infectious Disease Research Institute (US)
- University of Cape Town (ZA)
- University of Washington (US)
- Stellenbosch University (ZA)
- Biomedical Research Institute (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- The Journal of Infectious Diseases
- Published
- 2024-10-22
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1093/infdis/jiae521
- Citations
- 2
- Primary Topic
- HIV/AIDS Research and Interventions
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.78