bims-inflim Biomed News
on Influenza Immunity
Issue of 2018–05–13
two papers selected by
Christine Oshansky-Weilnau



  1. Curr Opin Immunol. 2018 May 03. pii: S0952-7915(17)30203-0. [Epub ahead of print]53 96-101
      One hundred years ago, the 1918 H1N1 Pandemic killed 20 million people worldwide. Despite the introduction of a worldwide surveillance system, large-scale production of influenza vaccines coupled with annual vaccination schemes, influenza remains a major public health concern. Prevention of influenza on a population basis requires intimate knowledge of the interplay between the virus' ability to escape the immune response and persistent recall and regeneration of the antibody response. Here we will briefly outline the nature of the antibody response, focusing on the response to intransigent regions of the hemagglutinin (HA) and speculate on the how this data may be used to inform and ultimately develop a universal influenza vaccine.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.coi.2018.04.009
  2. Adv Immunol. 2018 ;pii: S0065-2776(18)30012-9. [Epub ahead of print]138 71-98
      Memory T cells are central to orchestrating antigen-specific recall responses in vivo. Compared to naïve T cells, memory T cells respond more quickly to cognate peptide:MHC with a shorter lag time for entering the cell cycle and exerting effector functions. However, it is now well established that this enhanced responsiveness is not the only mechanism whereby memory T cells are better equipped than naïve T cells to rapidly and robustly induce inflammation. In contrast to naïve T cells, memory T cells are composed of distinct subsets with unique trafficking patterns and localizations. Tissue-resident memory T cells persist in previously inflamed tissue and function as first responders to cognate antigen reexposure. In addition, a heterogeneous group of circulating memory T cells augment inflammation by either rapidly migrating to inflamed tissue or responding to cognate antigen within secondary lymphoid organs and producing additional effector T cells. Defining the mechanisms regulating T cell positioning and trafficking and how this influences the development, maintenance, and function of memory T cell subsets is essential to improving vaccine design as well as treatment of immune-mediated diseases. In this chapter, we will review our current knowledge of how chemokines, critical regulators of cell positioning and migration, govern memory T cell biology in vivo. In addition, we discuss areas of uncertainty and future directions for further delineating how T cell localization influences memory T cell biology.
    Keywords:  Chemokines; Immune memory; Memory T cells; Trafficking
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.ai.2018.02.002