Principal Investigators (Last, first, middle): Wang, Xiaolei & Kaushal, Deepak PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT: Tuberculosis (TB) is the leading cause of death in Human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) patients worldwide, and this is particularly true for infants. Although studies have disclosed some aspects of pathological changes in HIV/Mtb co-infected adults, very little is known about the pathogenesis and efficacy of therapeutic strategies in HIV-associated Mtb infection in infants, who possess a developing immune system that increases their vulnerability to certain infectious diseases. Recent advances in understanding of neonatal immunity indicate that both innate and adaptive responses are dependent on precursor frequencies of lymphocytes, antigenic dose, and mode of exposure. Clinical course of pediatric HIV has revealed perinatally acquired HIV infection occurs during a critical window of immune development, and HIV's perturbation of this dynamic process may account for the striking age-dependent differences in HIV disease progression. TB in young children is often imperceptible and can rapidly progress to active disease, but the effects of Mtb on the developing immune system of infants is essentially unknown. Therefore, a better understanding of the immunopathogenesis of HIV-associated Mtb infection in pediatric hosts is essential to provide appropriate interventions, which can reduce risk of morbidity and mortality in infants co-infected with HIV and Mtb. We have been using nonhuman primate models to study neonatal immunology and have shown the neonatal immune system is highly compartmentalized, with a much more competent mucosal immune system than the systemic system at birth, and pediatric SIV infection results in impaired development and function of the neonatal mucosal and systemic immune systems. This proposal is designed to determine the immunological changes induced by SIV infection that contributes to the increased severity of Mtb in infants, and the effects of early antiretroviral therapy (ART) and immunotherapy (IDO-inhibitor treatment) on both infections by comparing viral/bacterial burdens, innate, adaptive, and pathogen specific cellular and humoral immune responses, pulmonary pathology, latency, reservoirs, and disease progression. The objectives of our studies are to: a) characterize the effects of Mtb on the development and maturation of systemic and mucosal immune systems in infant macaques that with or without immunotherapy; b) compare immune responses and pathology in SIV/Mtb co-infected infant macaques; and c) determine whether early initiation of ART with subsequent immunotherapy reduces morbidity and mortality among HIV-associated Mtb infection in infants. By using a comprehensive and multipronged approach to define the impacts of Mtb infection on the development and function of the immune system, and identifying mechanisms underlying restoration of Mtb-specific immune function in SIV-infected infants, our studies will advance our understandings of the immunopathogenesis of TB in HIV-infected children, which may provide new insights into immune mechanisms that can be targeted for more effective prevention and treatment strategies for infants co-infected with Mtb. -1-
Principal Investigators (Last, first, middle): Wang, Xiaolei & Kaushal, Deepak PROJECT NARRATIVE: HIV infection is a significant driving force of the global Tuberculosis (TB) epidemic, especially in in resource- limited countries, where HIV has resulted in epidemiologic shifts in pediatric TB cases, with an increased incidence of TB among HIV-infected women and their infants. Although Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) and HIV act in synergy, accelerating the decline of immunological functions and leading to subsequent death if untreated, the mechanisms behind the breakdown of the immune defense of the co-infected individual are not well known, especially in pediatric hosts. The proposed research aims to elucidate the impacts of combined Mtb and HIV infection on the development and function of the developing immune system of infants, as well as to determine the mechanisms of immune failure, and the potential for early antiretroviral therapy (ART) combined with a subsequent immunotherapy to limit these mechanisms and delay disease progression in infants, all of which are highly relevant to the public health. -1-
