Publications by authors named "L G ROWNTREE"
Article Synopsis
- Diabetes mellitus increases the risk of severe respiratory diseases like influenza and COVID-19, primarily due to glycemic variability rather than average blood glucose levels.
- A study used blood samples and continuous glucose monitoring from individuals with type 1 diabetes to examine how glycemic variability affects T cell responses to influenza.
- Higher glycemic variability was linked to a decreased proportion of specific T cells responding to the influenza virus, indicating the importance of monitoring glycemic variability for understanding immune responses in diabetic individuals.
Long COVID occurs in a small but important minority of patients following COVID-19, reducing quality of life and contributing to healthcare burden. Although research into underlying mechanisms is evolving, immunity is understudied. SARS-CoV-2-specific T cell responses are of key importance for viral clearance and COVID-19 recovery.
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- Most COVID-19 vaccines focus on the Spike protein, but mutations in the virus highlight the need for broader vaccine development.
- The study uses mass spectrometry to identify immunopeptides from seven stable SARS-CoV-2 proteins, mapping their interactions with various Human Leukocyte Antigens (HLA) worldwide.
- Out of 248 unique peptides found, over half are novel, and testing shows T cell responses to several peptides, which could help create improved COVID vaccines targeting multiple virus proteins.
Influenza A viruses remain a global threat to human health, with continued pandemic potential. In this Review, we discuss our current understanding of the optimal immune responses that drive recovery from influenza virus infection, highlighting the fine balance between protective immune mechanisms and detrimental immunopathology. We describe the contribution of innate and adaptive immune cells, inflammatory modulators and antibodies to influenza virus-specific immunity, inflammation and immunopathology.
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- Influenza B viruses (IBVs) significantly impact health, but the immune response, especially involving CD8 T-cells, is not well understood; only 18 T-cell epitopes have been identified so far.
- This study identifies 9 new highly conserved CD8 T-cell epitopes linked to certain HLAs, which could enhance the development of more effective cross-reactive T-cell vaccines against IBVs.
- Additionally, the research reveals that while the frequency of IBV-specific CD8 T-cells decreases with age, they retain a memory phenotype and exhibit unique T-cell receptor repertoires based on specific epitopes.