Adaptive Immune Dysregulation in Disseminated Coccidioidomycosis

摘要 播散性球孢子菌病（DCM）可以解释为缺陷的宿主防御和 真菌成功的免疫逃逸我们实验室发表的数据强调了T细胞在 对抗真菌感染，以及在传播性疾病中出错。我们的主要目标是发现T细胞 模式和程序介导的功能障碍，并允许侵入性球孢子菌病。 T细胞活化需要病原体的抗原被呈递，这一过程提供了一种免疫原性。 对创始人的适应性免疫的机会。主要组织相容性复合体（MHC）亚型，通常也 称为HLA等位基因，已被证明在严重感染的易感性中起重要作用，包括 球孢子菌病，因为这些分子提出抗原肽的T细胞。哪些HLA等位基因 对易感性的研究已经超过20年了，现代的方法，包括那些由 我们的团队对抗原呈递过程有了更多的了解。重要的是，哪些肽 对球孢子菌病的重要保护作用还不清楚。我们的进场数据包括一项新技术 以经验发现球孢子菌的关键肽。在目标1中，我们将发现抗原肽， HLA和T细胞受体介导DCM。 在T细胞活化后，转录程序在抗原呈递细胞的细胞因子的提示下出现。 我们发表的和初步的数据支持T细胞功能障碍是免疫应答缺陷的基础。 DCM。这些异常反应可能是由于T细胞程序的遗传或表观遗传缺陷引起的， 这可能是由于罕见或常见的遗传变异或与遗传祖先相关的单倍型变异。 这些异常反应也可能是由于APC产生的细胞因子引起的异常偏斜。间隙 病原体在几天内是必要的，否则持续的抗原暴露会使T细胞产生深刻的免疫反应。 表型转换，包括抗原特异性T细胞的物理消除，将它们驱动到抗原状态， 无反应，或驱使他们进入衰老状态。我们的初步数据支持， DCM，T细胞表现出衰竭和衰老表型。在目标2中，我们将首先采取无偏的 发现突出DCM与UVF的转录模式的方法。我们将研究单细胞RNA seq和scATAC-seq来鉴定与疾病相关的细胞和转录模式。我们将研究 患有DCM的受试者，他们带有上述三种功能失调程序的标记。这些 这些研究将能够发现DCM患者的各种亚类及其功能缺陷， T细胞。

Abstract Disseminated coccidioidomycosis (DCM) can be explained by a combination of defective host defenses and successful immune evasion by the fungus. Published data from our labs highlight the importance of T cells in fighting fungal infections, and in going awry in disseminated disease. Our main goal is to discover the T cell patterns and programs that mediate dysfunction and allow for invasive coccidioidomycosis. T-cell activation requires the antigens of the pathogen to be presented, and this process offers an opportunity for adaptive immunity to founder. Major histocompatibility complex (MHC) subtypes, commonly also called HLA alleles, have been shown to play an important role in susceptibility to severe infection, including coccidioidomycosis, because these molecules present antigenic peptides to T cells. Which HLA alleles contribute to susceptibility has not been studied in over 20 years, and modern approaches including those published by our team shed considerably more light on the antigen presentation process. Importantly, which peptides are important for protection to coccidioidomycosis is as yet unknown. Our approach data includes a new technology to empirically discover those key peptides of Coccidioides. In Aim 1, we will discover the antigenic peptides, HLAs, and T-cell receptors that mediate DCM. Upon T-cell activation, transcriptional programs arise as cued by cytokines of the antigen presenting cells. Our published and preliminary data support that T-cell dysfunction underlies the defective immune responses of DCM. These aberrant responses may arise either due to genetic or epigenetic defects of the T cell program, which may be due to rare or common genetic variants or haplotype variants associated with genetic ancestry. These aberrant responses could also be due to abnormal skewing due to cytokines made by APCs. Clearance of pathogens within a few days is requisite, or else persistent antigen exposure drives T cells to a profound phenotypic switch that includes physical elimination of antigen-specific T cells, driving them to a state of antigen- unresponsiveness, or driving them to a state of senescence. Our preliminary data support that in subjects with DCM, T cells exhibit both an exhaustion and senescence phenotype. In Aim 2, we will first take an unbiased approach to discover transcriptional patterns that highlight DCM versus UVF. We will pursue single-cell RNA- seq and scATAC-seq to identify cells and patterns of transcription that correlate with disease. We will study subjects with DCM who bear the markers of the three dysfunctional programs above with this approach. These studies will enable discovery of the various subcategories of DCM patients and the functional deficiencies in their T cells.