[HTML][HTML] Cellular immune correlates of protection against symptomatic pandemic influenza

S Sridhar, S Begom, A Bermingham, K Hoschler… - Nature medicine, 2013 - nature.com
S Sridhar, S Begom, A Bermingham, K Hoschler, W Adamson, W Carman, T Bean…
Nature medicine, 2013nature.com
The role of T cells in mediating heterosubtypic protection against natural influenza illness in
humans is uncertain. The 2009 H1N1 pandemic (pH1N1) provided a unique natural
experiment to determine whether crossreactive cellular immunity limits symptomatic illness
in antibody-naive individuals. We followed 342 healthy adults through the UK pandemic
waves and correlated the responses of pre-existing T cells to the pH1N1 virus and
conserved core protein epitopes with clinical outcomes after incident pH1N1 infection …
Abstract
The role of T cells in mediating heterosubtypic protection against natural influenza illness in humans is uncertain. The 2009 H1N1 pandemic (pH1N1) provided a unique natural experiment to determine whether crossreactive cellular immunity limits symptomatic illness in antibody-naive individuals. We followed 342 healthy adults through the UK pandemic waves and correlated the responses of pre-existing T cells to the pH1N1 virus and conserved core protein epitopes with clinical outcomes after incident pH1N1 infection. Higher frequencies of pre-existing T cells to conserved CD8 epitopes were found in individuals who developed less severe illness, with total symptom score having the strongest inverse correlation with the frequency of interferon-γ (IFN-γ)+ interleukin-2 (IL-2) CD8+ T cells (r = −0.6, P = 0.004). Within this functional CD8+IFN-γ+IL-2 population, cells with the CD45RA+ chemokine (C-C) receptor 7 (CCR7) phenotype inversely correlated with symptom score and had lung-homing and cytotoxic potential. In the absence of crossreactive neutralizing antibodies, CD8+ T cells specific to conserved viral epitopes correlated with crossprotection against symptomatic influenza. This protective immune correlate could guide universal influenza vaccine development.
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