New thesis on MAIT cells provides insights into immunity and COVID-19

Tobias Kammann from the Middle for Infectious Medication (CIM) on the Division of Medication, Huddinge (MedH) is defending his thesis titled “The range of MAIT cells throughout the human physique and in COVID-19,” on 29 November, 2024. His essential supervisor is Johan Sandberg (MedH).

What’s the essential focus of your thesis?

My analysis explored the roles of a particular group of immune cells referred to as mucosal-associated invariant T (MAIT) cells. These cells have been found comparatively just lately and most of what we learn about them stems from analysis on blood samples.

In my thesis, we investigated these cells intimately in human tissues donated to analysis, which allowed us to characterize the function of this cell sort in numerous components of the human physique, such because the liver, the lung, and the intestines. Additionally, we investigated the involvement of MAIT cells in extreme COVID-19 and the way these cells get better in individuals recovering from the illness.

That are crucial outcomes?

For the primary time, we may quantify the variety of MAIT cells throughout paired blood and a number of organs from the identical particular person. We noticed tissue-dependent distribution patterns and indicators of specialization to the tissue surroundings.

In research of hospitalized COVID-19 sufferers, we noticed that MAIT cells have been extremely activated and migrating to the infected lung. Within the aftermath of COVID-19, a number of months after restoration and launch from the hospital, we detected that in some people, MAIT cells nonetheless displayed phenotypic alterations and purposeful impairment.

How can this new data contribute to the development of individuals’s well being?

Finding out MAIT cells concurrently in a number of wholesome human tissues allowed us to put out a panorama of those cells for the human tissue immunology and MAIT cell analysis group. A greater understanding of the presence and roles of tissue-resident MAIT cells can result in novel or improved methods to deal with a broad vary of numerous human immune-related illnesses.

Our findings on MAIT cells in COVID-19 counsel that MAIT cell activation may be an indicator for sufferers at larger threat of extreme illness.

What are your future ambitions?

When contemplating the placement of the immune system, you would possibly instinctively consider the blood. Nonetheless, the vast majority of our immune system truly resides outdoors of the blood, inside our tissues, and we perceive a lot much less about it there. I want to proceed engaged on altering that and carry on exploring human tissue-resident T cell immunity.