Inflammation

National Institute Of Allergy And Infectious Diseases

Investigators

Linked publications & trials

Abstract

Despite dramatic advances in the successful treatment of HIV infection with combined antiretroviral therapy (cART), non-AIDS morbidity and mortality nevertheless remain higher in treated HIV-infected people compared to those who are not infected. Heightened systemic T cell activation is associated with poor CD4 T cell reconstitution, which in turn predicts poor long-term clinical outcome. Furthermore, raised circulating markers of inflammation, particularly IL-6 and D-dimers, are highly significant predictors of long-term morbidity and mortality during cART independently of plasma virus load and CD4 T cell count. In this project we study the causes and consequences of inflammation in humans with a particular interest in the effects of microbial translocation from the gut. We use samples from cohorts in Africa and Thailand as well as the USA. We aimed at understanding how microbial products affect immune cell function and systemic inflammation. We measure inflammatory markers, immune cell transcriptomes, microbial species and metabolic markers. We perform this in the context of healthy individuals as well as those with a number of infectious disease including HIV, Malaria and Influenza. We are also measuring these factors in people with cancer.