T cell immunity to respiratory infections

• Main Author: Hornick, Emma Elizabeth Lanning
• Other Authors: Legge, Kevin L.
• Format: Others
• Language: English
• Published: University of Iowa 2014
• Subjects: Pathology
• Online Access: https://ir.uiowa.edu/etd/6593; https://ir.uiowa.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=8092&context=etd

Pneumonia is a leading cause of death worldwide, and can be caused by different types of pathogens, including viruses and bacteria. Influenza A virus is one of the most common viral causes of pneumonia, and seasonal strains infect 5-20% of the population of the United States each year. Seasonal strains are constantly evolving, and therefore vaccines must be updated and administered every year. Recent studies have indicated that influenza virus-specific CD4 T cells can provide protection during infection with strains of influenza A virus to which an individual does not have antibodies, thus understanding how these CD4 T cells respond to infection in the lungs is an important step towards more effective and enduring protection. My work provides insight into the specialized subsets present in the influenza A virus-specific CD4 T cell response in the lungs and demonstrates that this response is regulated by pulmonary antigen-presenting cells. Group A Streptococcus is a bacterial cause of pneumonia with a 15-25% mortality rate, yet very little is known about the pulmonary CD4 or CD8 T cell responses to infection. My work maps the kinetics of and identifies requirements for CD4 and CD8 T cell accumulation in the lungs during pulmonary Group A Streptococcus infection. Together, these studies contribute to our knowledge of how T cell responses are generated and regulated in response to pulmonary pathogens. These findings have the potential to inform development of novel treatment and prevention strategies.