Publications by authors named "Julia Davis-Porada"

Article Synopsis
  • Memory T and B cells in tissues are crucial for immunity, with a study analyzing immune memory from mRNA COVID-19 vaccine in 63 organ donors of varying ages.* -
  • Spike-reactive memory T cells were found in lymphoid organs and lungs, showing differences in expression based on prior SARS-CoV-2 infection, while B cells in these areas were mainly class-switched memory cells.* -
  • Tissue memory T cells lasted longer than blood counterparts, especially in older individuals, with distinct roles: regulatory profiles were more common in tissues, helping protect while minimizing damage.*
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SARS-CoV-2 infection for most children results in mild or minimal symptoms, though in rare cases severe disease can develop, including a multisystem inflammatory syndrome (MIS-C) with myocarditis. Here, we present longitudinal profiling of immune responses during acute disease and following recovery in children who developed MIS-C, relative to children who experienced more typical symptoms of COVID-19. T cells in acute MIS-C exhibited transient signatures of activation, inflammation, and tissue residency which correlated with cardiac disease severity, while T cells in acute COVID-19 upregulated markers of follicular helper T cells for promoting antibody production.

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The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has demonstrated the importance of studying antiviral immunity within sites of infection to gain insights into mechanisms for immune protection and disease pathology. As SARS-CoV-2 is tropic to the respiratory tract, many studies of airway washes, lymph node aspirates, and postmortem lung tissue have revealed site-specific immune dynamics that are associated with the protection or immunopathology but are not readily observed in circulation. This review summarizes the growing body of work identifying immune processes in tissues and their interplay with immune responses in circulation during acute SARS-CoV-2 infection, severe disease, and memory persistence.

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Immune response dynamics in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and their severe manifestations have largely been studied in circulation. Here, we examined the relationship between immune processes in the respiratory tract and circulation through longitudinal phenotypic, transcriptomic, and cytokine profiling of paired airway and blood samples from patients with severe COVID-19 relative to heathy controls. In COVID-19 airways, T cells exhibited activated, tissue-resident, and protective profiles; higher T cell frequencies correlated with survival and younger age.

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Objective: The risk of thrombotic events is elevated in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) compared to the general population and has been attributed to both systemic inflammation and to the presence of antiphospholipid antibodies (aPLs). Our objective was to examine differences in aPL prevalence in White and African American patients with SLE and venous thromboembolic (VTE) events, and to compare inflammatory markers at the time of a VTE event.

Methods: Records of White and African American patients with SLE and VTE events were retrieved from a rheumatology practice based at an academic hospital.

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Clinical manifestations of COVID-19 caused by the new coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 are associated with age. Adults develop respiratory symptoms, which can progress to acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) in the most severe form, while children are largely spared from respiratory illness but can develop a life-threatening multisystem inflammatory syndrome (MIS-C). Here, we show distinct antibody responses in children and adults after SARS-CoV-2 infection.

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Immune responses to respiratory viruses like SARS-CoV-2 originate and function in the lung, yet assessments of human immunity are often limited to blood. Here, we conducted longitudinal, high-dimensional profiling of paired airway and blood samples from patients with severe COVID-19, revealing immune processes in the respiratory tract linked to disease pathogenesis. Survival from severe disease was associated with increased CD4 T cells and decreased monocyte/macrophage frequencies in the airway, but not in blood.

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Clinical manifestations of COVID-19 caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 are associated with age. While children are largely spared from severe respiratory disease, they can present with a SARS-CoV-2-associated multisystem inflammatory syndrome (MIS-C) similar to Kawasaki's disease. Here, we show distinct antibody (Ab) responses in children with MIS-C compared to adults with severe COVID-19 causing acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), and those who recovered from mild disease.

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Background: Lupus patients are at risk for pregnancy loss, and it has been generally accepted that women with SLE should have low disease activity prior to conception. However, there are conflicting results regarding the effect of pregnancy on SLE flares. This study aims to identify predictors of flares during and after pregnancy in SLE patients with inactive or stable disease activity during the first trimester and to characterize and estimate the frequency of post-partum flares in these patients.

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Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD) represent two ends of a disease spectrum with shared clinical, genetic and pathological features. These include near ubiquitous pathological inclusions of the RNA-binding protein (RBP) TDP-43, and often the presence of a GGGGCC expansion in the (C9) gene. Previously, we reported that the sequestration of hnRNP H altered the splicing of target transcripts in C9ALS patients (Conlon et al.

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