The control patients were undergoing colonoscopy at Chelsea & Westminster NHS Trust due to a personal or family history of large bowel polyps or cancer.īiopsies were collected 25–30 cm from the anal verge of the sigmoid colon using Jumbo EndoJaw 3.7 mm forceps (Olympus) and processed as previously described to obtain mucosal mononuclear cells (MMCs). We analysed paired blood and colonic samples from 37 HIV-1-infected patients (12 with detectable viraemia and 25 on suppressive ART) and 22 HIV-uninfected controls. We hypothesized that depletion of MAIT cells in the colon of HIV+ patients would correlate with increased immune activation and markers of microbial translocation.
Damage to the mucosal epithelium resulting in microbial translocation has been proposed as a mechanism for the immune activation seen in HIV+ patients. Two recent studies have shown that antiretroviral therapy (ART) fails to restore MAIT cell percentages in the blood.
MAIT cells play a key role in host immunity against bacteria and fungi by recognition of vitamin B metabolites presented by the MHC class 1b-related protein MR1. Mucosal-associated invariant T (MAIT) cells are a recently described innate-like mucosal-homing T cell subset which express the semi-invariant T cell receptor V α7.2, interleukin-18R and are strongly positive for CD161.
0 kommentar(er)
