Impact of retroviral infection on non-classical, mycobacteria-specific T cells.

Project SummaryOver 30 million people are currently infected with HIV, and over 2 million people die from AIDS each year.These numbers are dwarfed only by the number of individuals infected with tuberculosis (TB). Approximatelytwo-thirds of the world's population is currently infected with the bacterium that causes TB, and approximately10% of those individuals develop active TB. Individuals who are infected with both HIV and TB are up to 31times more likely to develop tuberculosis than those with TB alone. Thus, there is an inherent need tounderstand how HIV affects the immune response to TB and whether an intervention can be designed toprevent tuberculosis in co-infected individuals. We have recently identified two unique populations of non-classical CD8+ T cells in rhesus macaques that we believe are critical players in anti-mycobacterial immunity:mucosal associated invariant T cells (MAITs), and MHC-E restricted CD8+ T cells. Thus, the goal of thisproposal is to characterize these unique T cells following BCG vaccination and understand how SIV infectionimpacts their anatomical distribution and function.