Preexisting vaccine-primed heterosubtypic T cell immunity protects the maternal-fetal unit from adverse influenza outcomes in mice.

ABSTRACT: The risk of severe outcomes of influenza increases during pregnancy. Whether vaccine-induced T cell memory-primed prepregnancy retains the ability to mediate protection during pregnancy, when systemic levels of several hormones with putative immunomodulatory functions are increased, is unknown. Here, using murine adoptive transfer systems and a translationally relevant model of cold-adapted live-attenuated influenza A virus vaccination, we show that preexisting virus-specific memory T cell responses are largely unaltered and highly protective against heterotypic viral challenges during pregnancy. Expression of the transcription factor T-bet, which is upregulated in antiviral T cells responding in pregnant mice, is critical in preventing hormone-associated gain of detrimental T helper type

SUBMITTER: Flores Malavet V 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11684801 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature