Hosted by Bristol Veterinary School
Abstract: Dengue virus (DENV) is a mosquito-borne flavivirus that causes dengue, the most prevalent and rapidly spreading arboviral infection affecting 390 million people each year. Infection with DENV can be asymptomatic, result in dengue fever or a life-threatening syndrome characterized by plasma leakage and shock. The host immune response plays a poorly understood role in dengue pathogenesis.
We are investigating the role of T and NK cells in dengue infection to define correlates and determinants of protection and immunopathology for dengue. This knowledge is critical for the development of therapeutics which are still lacking for dengue, and for the design of a new generation of safe and efficacious vaccines.
In this talk I will show studies by our group which have defined the characteristics of T cell responses to dengue infection in a Singapore patient cohort, using high-dimensional CyTOF profiling, peptide-HLA tetramers, flow cytometry and ELISpot. In the second part of my talk, I will show our recent unpublished data in Vietnamese patients, highlighting an association of severe dengue with T and NK cell dysfunction. I will discuss mechanisms that may be driving cellular dysfunction and the implications of our findings for dengue therapy and vaccination.
If you would like to meet with Laura, please contact Jamie Mann
If joining online: https://bristol-ac-uk.zoom.us/j/99047241033?pwd=ZmhEOTB2RzNTQ1RDVlZZOVhsbFZ3QT09