Immune System Memory Improved Against Influenza

The immune system of the body works to both treat the infection and create a memory of the virus that caused it when people or animals become infected. As a result, the body develops an army of memory T cells that are capable of identifying and eliminating the virus when it reappears to cause a potential reinfection. These T cells play a significant role in immunological memory and are essential for the development of effective vaccinations.

The University of Missouri researchers are now one step closer to strengthening the T cell army. In a recent study, carried out in the Roy Blunt NextGen Precision Health building, the researchers discovered that the strength and endurance of immunological memory produced can be enhanced by manipulating one molecular signaling pathway in the T cells that take part in clearing influenza virus in the lungs.

With the ultimate goal of improving the body’s immunological memory, which can both prevent and lessen the severity of infections and reinfections, this discovery may support the future development of more potent vaccines and therapeutics to treat influenza and other respiratory infections.

The study’s principal investigators were associate professors Emma Teixeiro and Mark A. Daniels of the MU School of Medicine. It used distinctive mice models of influenza infection.

“Immunologists like myself have always wondered why T cells in the lungs after influenza infection disappear so quickly,” Teixeiro said. “This research can help us solve that problem by increasing the amount of T cells that can fight against infection. In this study, we have identified novel ways to improve the generation and long-term maintenance of protective immunity against influenza, and that is by manipulating a molecular target known as the IKK2/NFkB signaling pathway.”

The body’s immune system will ultimately be better equipped to fight against infection and lessen the severity, according to Teixeiro, who also noted that T cells can recognize parts of viruses that do not mutate. If researchers can figure out how to strengthen the T cells and lengthen the time when they can perform their duties appropriately, this will help the body’s immune system.

Although this particular study concentrated on the influenza virus, understanding the underlying molecular mechanisms and signaling pathways that control memory in tissues can assist to develop therapies for people with cancer, autoimmune diseases, or other respiratory infections.

“By unveiling the biochemical and molecular secrets of these T cells, we can provide valuable information to other scientists who work on optimizing vaccine strategies,” Teixeiro said. “The good news is there are already clinical treatments that do target this particular pathway we identified, so this study is a big step in the right direction, but we still have a long way to go.”

“IKK2/NFkB signaling controls lung resident CD8⁺ T cell memory during influenza infection” was recently published in Nature Communications. Co-authors on the study include Curtis J. Pritzl, Dezzarae Luera, Karin M. Knudson, Michael J. Quaney, Michael J. Calcutt and Mark A. Daniels.

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