title: Chronic heat stress inhibits immune responses to H5N1 vaccination through regulating CD4⁺ CD25⁺ Foxp3⁺ Tregs.
abstract: Chronic heat stress (CHS) is known to have negative impacts on the immune responses in animals and increases their susceptibility to infections including the highly pathogenic avian influenza virus H5N1. However, the role of regulatory T cells (Tregs) in CHS immunosuppression remains largely undefined. In this study, we demonstrated a novel mechanism by which CHS suppressed both Th1 and Th2 immune responses and dramatically decreased the protective efficacy of the formalin-inactivated H5N1 vaccine against H5N1 influenza virus infection. This suppression was found to be associated with the induced generation of CD4⁺ CD25⁺ Foxp3⁺ Tregs and the increased secretions of IL-10 and TGF- β in CD4⁺ T cells. Adoptive transfer of the induced Tregs also suppressed the protective efficacy of formalin-inactivated H5N1 virus immunization. Collectively, this study identifies a novel mechanism of CHS immunosuppression mediated by regulating CD4⁺ CD25⁺ Foxp3⁺ Tregs.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Zoonosis of Ministry of Agriculture, College of Veterinary Medicine, China Agricultural University, No. 2 Yuanmingyuan, West Road, Beijing 100193, China.
authors.forename: Di
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Meng
authors.forename: Yanxin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: Chong
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Xiao
authors.forename: Tangting
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.forename: Qiang
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zou
authors.forename: Ming
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D051858:Forkhead Transcription Factors / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D018869:Heat-Shock Response / Q000276:immunology*; D006358:Hot Temperature; D006801:Humans; D007165:Immunosuppression Therapy; D053124:Influenza A Virus, H5N1 Subtype / Q000276:immunology / Q000472:pathogenicity; D007251:Influenza, Human / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology; D053645:Interleukin-2 Receptor alpha Subunit / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D050378:T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D016212:Transforming Growth Factor beta / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D014611:Vaccination
chemical_list: C418974:FOXP3 protein, human; D051858:Forkhead Transcription Factors; C508017:IL2RA protein, human; D053645:Interleukin-2 Receptor alpha Subunit; D016212:Transforming Growth Factor beta