Premature skewing of T cell receptor clonality and delayed memory expansion in HIV-exposed infants

Nat Commun. 2024 May 14;15(1):4080. doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-47955-5.

Abstract

While preventing vertical HIV transmission has been very successful, HIV-exposed uninfected infants (iHEU) experience an elevated risk to infections compared to HIV-unexposed and uninfected infants (iHUU). Here we present a longitudinal multimodal analysis of infant immune ontogeny that highlights the impact of HIV/ARV exposure. Using mass cytometry, we show alterations in T cell memory differentiation between iHEU and iHUU being significant from week 15 of life. The altered memory T cell differentiation in iHEU was preceded by lower TCR Vβ clonotypic diversity and linked to TCR clonal depletion within the naïve T cell compartment. Compared to iHUU, iHEU had elevated CD56loCD16loPerforin+CD38+CD45RA+FcεRIγ+ NK cells at 1 month postpartum and whose abundance pre-vaccination were predictive of vaccine-induced pertussis and rotavirus antibody responses post 3 months of life. Collectively, HIV/ARV exposure disrupted the trajectory of innate and adaptive immunity from birth which may underlie relative vulnerability to infections in iHEU.

MeSH terms

  • Adaptive Immunity / immunology
  • Cell Differentiation / immunology
  • Female
  • HIV Infections* / immunology
  • HIV Infections* / virology
  • Humans
  • Immunologic Memory*
  • Infant
  • Infant, Newborn
  • Infectious Disease Transmission, Vertical*
  • Killer Cells, Natural / immunology
  • Longitudinal Studies
  • Male
  • Memory T Cells / immunology
  • Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell / immunology
  • Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell / metabolism

Substances

  • Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell