Platelet Immune Responses in Aging and Influenza

描述（由申请方提供）：血小板是一种动态和多功能的免疫效应细胞，介导宿主对呼吸道病毒感染（包括流感）的应答。在老年人中，流感感染是常见的，并导致大量的发病率和死亡率。我们的赠款，题为"血小板免疫反应在衰老和流感"将检查年龄相关的变化，新发现的血小板免疫蛋白和受损的反应如何导致不良的临床结果。干扰素诱导的跨膜蛋白（IFITMs）是一种蛋白质家族，可防止流感病毒复制和感染。IFITM家族成员以前未在人血小板中描述过。我们的具体目标和假设是基于丰富的初步数据库，表明老年人的血小板在流感感染期间和流感疫苗接种后IFITM的表达减少。我们还发现，IFITM蛋白表达不能上调与流感相关死亡率的风险增加相关。在我们的初步研究中，有证据表明IFITM的表达发生在血小板的转录和转录后检查点。 前体（例如，巨核细胞）和成熟血小板。在本申请中，我们将确定在流感感染的情况下和流感疫苗接种后，衰老是否会改变人血小板中IFITM蛋白的诱导。我们还将确定IFITM诱导中与年龄相关的损伤是否会导致流感相关疾病的严重程度和死亡率。此外，我们将剖析IFITM表达的机制和模式在人血小板和模型巨核细胞来自年轻和老年人受试者。虽然我们将详细研究IFITM家族成员，但我们还将使用深度RNA测序（RNA-seq）来鉴定老年人血小板和巨核细胞中发生改变的其他候选免疫调节基因。通过RNA-seq鉴定的候选人将在信息、蛋白质和/或活性水平上进行深入研究。这些调查是第一次研究， 巨核细胞和血小板中的IFITM。由于我们的研究将使用人类受试者和原代人类细胞完成，我们的发现将具有直接的临床意义。我们的多学科团队将年轻和高级研究人员，临床医生和基础科学家团结在一起。所有的技术和工具都已经建立并到位，我们已经证明了范式转变，从实验室到床边的发现研究的记录。因此，我们准备确定衰老如何改变血小板和巨核细胞的免疫感应，并确定调节老年人流感诱导的血小板免疫反应的新机制。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Platelets are emerging as dynamic and versatile immune effector cells that mediate host responses to respiratory viral infections, including influenza. In the elderly, influenza infections are common and cause substantial morbidity and mortality. Our grant, entitled "Platelet Immune Responses in Aging and Influenza" will examine age-related changes in newly-discovered platelet immune proteins and how impaired responses contribute to adverse clinical outcomes. This family of proteins, the interferon-induced transmembrane proteins (IFITMs), prevents influenza viral replication and infectivity. IFITM family members have not previously been described in human platelets. Our specific aims and hypotheses are based on a rich pool of preliminary data demonstrating that platelets from older adults have diminished expression of IFITMs during influenza infection and following influenza vaccination. We also found that the inability to upregulate IFITM protein expression correlates with an increased risk of influenza-related mortality. In our preliminary studies, there is evidenc that expression of IFITM occurs at transcriptional and post-transcriptional checkpoints in platelet precursors (e.g., megakaryocytes) and mature platelets. In this application, we will determine, in settings of influenza infection and following influenza vaccination, whether aging alters the induction of IFITM proteins in human platelets. We will also establish whether age-related impairments in IFITM induction contribute to influenza-related illness severity and mortality. Moreover, we will dissect the mechanisms and patterns of IFITM expression in human platelets and model megakaryocytes derived from young and older human subjects. While we will investigate IFITM family members in detail, we will also use deep RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) to identify other candidate immunomodulatory genes in platelets and megakaryocytes that are altered in older adults. Candidates identified by RNA-seq will be examined in-depth at the message, protein, and/or activity level. These investigations are the first studies to characterize IFITMs in megakaryocytes and platelets. As our investigations will be accomplished using human subjects and primary human cells, our findings will have immediate clinical relevance. Our multi-disciplinary team unites young and senior investigators, clinicians, and basic scientists. All techniques and tools are established and in place and we have proven track records of paradigm-shifting, bench-to-bedside discovery research. Thus, we are poised to determine how aging alters immune sensing by platelets and megakaryocytes and define new mechanisms regulating influenza-induced platelet immune responses in the elderly.