Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT: Background
Implementation of universal antiretroviral therapy (ART) has significantly lowered vertical transmission rates but has also increased numbers of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-exposed uninfected children, who remain vulnerable to morbid effects. In the current study, we investigated whether T-cell alterations in the placenta contribute to altered immune status in HIV-exposed uninfected.Methods
We analyzed T cells from term placenta decidua and villous tissue and paired cord blood from pregnant women living with HIV (PWH) who initiated ART late in pregnancy (n = 21) with pregnant women not living with HIV (PWNH) (n = 9).Results
Placentas from PWH showed inverted CD4/CD8 ratios and higher proportions of tissue resident CD8+ T cells in villous tissue relative to control placentas. CD8+ T cells in the fetal capillaries, which were of fetal origin, were positively correlated with maternal plasma viremia before ART initiation, implying that imbalanced T cells persisted throughout pregnancy. In addition, the expanded memory differentiation of CD8+ T cells was confined to the fetal placental compartment and cord blood but was not observed in the maternal decidua.Conclusions
T-cell homeostatic imbalance in the blood circulation of PWH is reflected in the placenta. The placenta may be a causal link between HIV-induced maternal immune changes during gestation and altered immunity in newborn infants in the absence of vertical transmission.
SUBMITTER: Ikumi NM
PROVIDER: S-EPMC8883807 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Dec
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Ikumi Nadia M NM Pillay Komala K Tilburgs Tamara T Malaba Thokozile R TR Dzanibe Sonwabile S Enninga Elizabeth Ann L EAL Chakraborty Rana R Lamorde Mohammed M Myer Landon L Khoo Saye S Jaspan Heather B HB Gray Clive M CM
The Journal of infectious diseases 20211201 12 Suppl 2
<h4>Background</h4>Implementation of universal antiretroviral therapy (ART) has significantly lowered vertical transmission rates but has also increased numbers of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-exposed uninfected children, who remain vulnerable to morbid effects. In the current study, we investigated whether T-cell alterations in the placenta contribute to altered immune status in HIV-exposed uninfected.<h4>Methods</h4>We analyzed T cells from term placenta decidua and villous tissue and pa ...[more]