Nadia Ikumi - IUIS Beijing ICI 2019 Presentation

Dr Nadia Ikumi was one of the Division's post-docs who attended the IUIS 17th International Congress of Immunology (ICI) held in Beijing from 19-23 October 2019. Dr Ikumi was a Symposium speaker who presented on "Regulatory T cells at the maternal foetal interface in HIV-infected".

Nadia Ikumi - Regulatory T cells at the maternal foetal interface in HIV-infected

In humans, successful pregnancies are highly dependent on unique immune signatures that ensure the mother tolerates her semi-allogeneic foetus. Our research was designed to explore whether in utero HIV and/or antiretroviral exposure alters the T cell pool frequency and function in the human placenta. We employed a multifaceted approach to characterize regulatory T cells in placentas from antiretroviral treatment (ART) naïve pregnant women who initiated HIV treatment late in pregnancy. Our data demonstrates that exposure to HIV and/or ART during the course of pregnancy alters the T cell footprint at the maternal foetal interface, and altered systemic maternal immunity correlates with altered T cell subset frequencies in the placenta.