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The effects of in utero HIV and ART exposure on infant T-cell and monocyte activation, function and regulation of immune-modulatory pathways

Thesis (PhD (Medical Immunology))--University of Pretoria 2024.

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Other Authors: Rossouw, Theresa M.
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: University of Pretoria 2024
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access_status_str Open Access
author2 Rossouw, Theresa M.
author_browse Rossouw, Theresa M.
author_facet Rossouw, Theresa M.
collection Thesis
dc_rights_str_mv © 2023 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria.
description Thesis (PhD (Medical Immunology))--University of Pretoria 2024.
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provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository
publishDate 2024
publishDateRange 2024
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publisher University of Pretoria
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spelling oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/99398 The effects of in utero HIV and ART exposure on infant T-cell and monocyte activation, function and regulation of immune-modulatory pathways Rossouw, Theresa M. andrea.prinsloo@up.ac.za Steel, Helen Carolyn Prinsloo, Andrea UCTD Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Infants T-cell HIV-exposed-uninfected Anti-inflammatory Pro-inflammatory Monocyte activation Immune-modulatory pathways Thesis (PhD (Medical Immunology))--University of Pretoria 2024. Infection with HIV is associated with persistent immune dysfunction and activation. The study assessed whether maternal HIV status and cytokine/chemokine profiles impact infant growth, T-cell and monocyte activation, regulation, and monocyte responsiveness to stimulation at birth and early infancy. A total of 148 pregnant women – 71 pregnant women/mothers living with HIV (MLWH) and 77 without HIV – were recruited at 22 weeks’ gestation and followed until 12 months postpartum. Bloods were drawn from mothers at 28 weeks’ gestation and birth, and from infants at birth, six-, 10 and 14 weeks, and six months. All infants were HIV-negative. Compared to HIV-unexposed-uninfected infants, HIV-exposed-but-uninfected (HEU) infants had suboptimal growth from birth up to 12 months of age. MLWH had a lower CD4:CD8 ratio, increased mature CD4+ effector memory (EM) T-cells and a maturation arrest in CD8+ T-cells. MLWH also had increased T-cell activation, with higher programmed death protein-1 (PD-1) expression, and more T-cell exhaustion, with increased CD57 expression in the total population of CD4+ and CD8+ T-cells at different stages of maturation. At 28 weeks’ gestation, MLWH further had a higher percentage of total regulatory T-cells (Tregs). Disrupted CD4+ EM T-cell maturation was noted in HEU infants at birth and 10 weeks of age. They also had a transient increase in CD4+ T-cell activation at 10 weeks but reduced activation of CD8+ T-cells at 10 weeks and six months of age. CD4+ and CD8+ T-cells of HEU infants showed signs of exhaustion at birth and 10 weeks but both had decreased at six months. An increased total percentage of intermediate (IM) monocytes together with increased activation and reduced expression of inhibitory checkpoints in the monocyte subsets were noted in MLWH. No significant differences were observed in the total percentage of classical, IM and non-classical (NC) monocytes between HEU and HUU infants at birth or six months of age, but HEU infants had a lower percentage of total NC monocytes at 10 weeks of age. They also had reduced expression of inhibitory checkpoints at birth and increased monocyte activation at 10 weeks of age. Apart from interferon-gamma (IFN-γ), HEU infants tended to favour a proinflammatory immune response both before and following whole blood stimulation with lipopolysaccharide and polyinosinic:polycytidylic acid. Although not statistically significant, MLWH had increased plasma levels of interleukin (IL)-6 and tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and lower IFN-γ and IL-2. Positive correlations were found between maternal IL-6 and IL-8 levels, and infant IL-4 and TGF-β1 at 10 weeks of age, suggesting that a pro-inflammatory maternal milieu does impact infants’ immune profile. No significant differences were, however, observed in cytokine/chemokine concentrations between HEU and HUU infants. A negative association was found between maternal sCD14, and infant length Z-score at birth. Together these findings support the hypothesis that increased maternal immune activation alters basal T-cell maturation, activation, and regulation as well as basal monocyte activation and responsiveness to stimulation of HEU infants at birth and 10 weeks of age. The long-term consequences of these aberrations are still unclear and deserve further study. National Research Foundation Grant number: 121857 National Health Laboratory Service Trust Grant Immunology PhD (Medical Immunology) Unrestricted Faculty of Health Sciences SDG-03: Good health and well-being 2024-11-26T06:36:02Z 2024-11-26T06:36:02Z 2025-04 2024-08-29 Thesis * A2025 http://hdl.handle.net/2263/99398 https://doi.org/10.25403/UPresearchdata.27351972.v1 https://doi.org/10.25403/UPresearchdata.27351972.v1 en © 2023 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. application/pdf University of Pretoria
spellingShingle UCTD
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
Infants T-cell
HIV-exposed-uninfected
Anti-inflammatory
Pro-inflammatory
Monocyte activation
Immune-modulatory pathways
The effects of in utero HIV and ART exposure on infant T-cell and monocyte activation, function and regulation of immune-modulatory pathways
title The effects of in utero HIV and ART exposure on infant T-cell and monocyte activation, function and regulation of immune-modulatory pathways
title_full The effects of in utero HIV and ART exposure on infant T-cell and monocyte activation, function and regulation of immune-modulatory pathways
title_fullStr The effects of in utero HIV and ART exposure on infant T-cell and monocyte activation, function and regulation of immune-modulatory pathways
title_full_unstemmed The effects of in utero HIV and ART exposure on infant T-cell and monocyte activation, function and regulation of immune-modulatory pathways
title_short The effects of in utero HIV and ART exposure on infant T-cell and monocyte activation, function and regulation of immune-modulatory pathways
title_sort effects of in utero hiv and art exposure on infant t cell and monocyte activation function and regulation of immune modulatory pathways
topic UCTD
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
Infants T-cell
HIV-exposed-uninfected
Anti-inflammatory
Pro-inflammatory
Monocyte activation
Immune-modulatory pathways
url http://hdl.handle.net/2263/99398
https://doi.org/10.25403/UPresearchdata.27351972.v1
https://doi.org/10.25403/UPresearchdata.27351972.v1