Mucosal T cell defence in large animal models of infection

The study of cellular immune responses in the mucosa has proven difficult within humans. Capturing the respiratory mucosal immune response is challenging without invasive sampling methods; therefore, research in this area has leant heavily on the use of animal models. Livestock species are naturally infected by a range of diseases which are also major human public health concerns, including influenza in pigs, tuberculosis in cattle and lung disease in sheep. Influenza virus is estimated to cause 1 billion human infections annually with approximately 3- 5 million cases of severe illness and 300-500,000 deaths per year. Pigs make an ideal model for the study of influenza infection as they have comparable size and respiratory anatomy to humans and influenza strains such as the 2009 pandemic H1N1 are endemic in both humans and pigs. The T cell response to influenza has come under renewed investigation in recent years with the potential to target cross reactive T cell epitopes to multiple influenza strains. Additionally, innate like T cells, such as mucosal associated invariant T (MAIT) cells, a prominent T cell population in humans, are being increasingly studied for their role in influenza infection. Here, the ... (continues)