Influence of Maternal Inflammation on Fetal γδ T Cell Development
Conference Year
2023
Abstract
γδ T cells are unusual tissue-resident T cells that play critical roles in infectious disease, tumor surveillance, and autoimmunity. They are functionally programmed during a critical developmental window in the embryonic thymus. This suggests a disturbance in their development could have long-lasting effects on offspring immunity. Maternal infection during pregnancy leads to an altered offspring immune cell phenotype. We modeled the effect of maternal inflammation on fetal innate-like γδ T cells using poly I:C and LPS. We found that maternal inflammation resulted in a decrease in thymocyte number, γδ T cell number, and altered offspring γδ T cell phenotypes.
Primary Faculty Mentor Name
Jonathan Boyson
Status
Undergraduate
Student College
College of Arts and Sciences
Program/Major
Biology
Second Program/Major
Anthropology
Primary Research Category
Life Sciences
Influence of Maternal Inflammation on Fetal γδ T Cell Development
γδ T cells are unusual tissue-resident T cells that play critical roles in infectious disease, tumor surveillance, and autoimmunity. They are functionally programmed during a critical developmental window in the embryonic thymus. This suggests a disturbance in their development could have long-lasting effects on offspring immunity. Maternal infection during pregnancy leads to an altered offspring immune cell phenotype. We modeled the effect of maternal inflammation on fetal innate-like γδ T cells using poly I:C and LPS. We found that maternal inflammation resulted in a decrease in thymocyte number, γδ T cell number, and altered offspring γδ T cell phenotypes.