CHARACTERIZATION OF CD4+ T CELL AND CYTOTOXIC CD4+ T CELL PROFILES IN METABOLIC AND AUTOIMMUNITY DISORDERS

• Grant number: 24/02384-5
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: May 01, 2024
• End date: April 30, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Immunology - Cellular Immunology
• Principal Investigator: Alessandro dos Santos Farias
• Grantee: Rafael Silva Lima
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biologia (IB). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 21/08354-2 - The interplay between the immune system and metabolism as a key determinant of the aging process, AP.TEM

Abstract

CD4+ T lymphocytes are essential cells for the body's homeostasis, with important roles in health and disease. Although they do not deal directly with the antigen, they are essential for orchestrating the immune response, stimulating CD8+ T cells and the production of antibodies by B lymphocytes and guiding the action of other cells, such as macrophages, through the cytokines produced. The profiles assumed by these cells are dependent on such metabolic adaptations. This appears to be important for the development of autoimmune diseases, for example in systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis and type I diabetes. Furthermore, such cells, mainly CD4+ T lymphocytes, appear to be responsible for a certain metabolic memory in the body, which indicates that its action may be important in the context of metabolic diseases, such as obesity. However, a more refined assessment of which cellular profiles are responsible for such phenomena is still necessary. Such characterization comes up against, for example, the heterogeneity of the gene and functional expression profile of these cells. Cytotoxic CD4+ T cells (CD4+ CTLs), for example, are a cell type that still needs further characterization, although some studies, including those from our research group, show an important role for such cells in the context of autoimmune diseases, among others.