THE ROLE OF REGULATORY T CELLS IN IMMUNE CONTROL OF FLAVIVIRUS INFECTION

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Flaviviruses present a major public health problem in the US and worldwide. A role of regulatory T cells (Tregs), potent negative regulators of the adaptive and innate immune responses, in viral infection in general, and in flayivirus infection in particular, is poorly understood. We hypothesize that there are distinct qualitative and quantitative requirements for diverse manifestations of Treg function affecting virus specific responses and associated pathology. These manifestations might vary depending on time during the course of viral infection, localization (secondary lymphoid organs vs. peripheral tissues), and the specific virus type. In this application, we will employ a well-established experimental model of West Nile virus (WNV) infection in mice to investigate a role for Treg cells in flavivirus infection. In our studies, we will test the aforementioned hypotheses by taking advantage of FoxpS8'