Mother and child T cell receptor repertoires: deep profiling study

Area of Science:

• Immunology
• Genetics
• Molecular Biology

Background:

• Maternal and child immunity is crucial for pregnancy health and disease.
• Understanding T cell receptor (TCR) repertoires offers insights into immune interactions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To deeply profile T cell receptor (TCR) repertoires in mothers and children.
• To identify distinguishing features of TCR repertoires in related mother-child pairs.
• To investigate the role of thymic selection and potential maternal T cell transfer.

Main Methods:

• High-throughput Illumina HiSeq sequencing for quantitative TCR beta repertoire profiling.
• Analysis of peripheral blood samples from three mothers and their six children.
• Comparative analysis of TCR beta variable segment usage and CDR3 repertoires.

Main Results:

• Accurate identification of millions of TCR beta clonotypes per individual.
• Thymic selection significantly shapes TCR repertoires similarly in related and unrelated individuals.
• Evidence suggests mature T cells transferred across the placenta can persist as microchimeric clones.

Conclusions:

• Inherited differences have a minor effect on initial TCR repertoire output.
• TCR profiling provides tools to identify and study microchimeric T cells.
• This research deepens the understanding of maternal-fetal immune interactions.