Evasion of MAIT cell recognition by the African Salmonella Typhimurium ST313 pathovar that causes invasive disease
Preciado-Llanes L., Aulicino A., Canals R., Moynihan PJ., Zhu X., Jambo N., Nyirenda TS., Kadwala I., Sousa Gerós A., Owen SV., Jambo KC., Kumwenda B., Veerapen N., Besra GS., Gordon MA., Hinton JCD., Napolitani G., Salio M., Simmons A.
Significance Nontyphoidal Salmonella serotypes are a common cause of self-limiting diarrhoeal illnesses in healthy adults. However, recently, a highly invasive multidrug resistant Salmonella Typhimurium sequence type 313 has emerged as a major cause of morbidity and mortality in sub-Saharan Africa, particularly in children and immunosuppressed individuals. In this paper we describe escape from MAIT cell recognition as an additional mechanism of immune evasion of S. Typhimurium ST313. As MAIT cells represent an early defense mechanism against pathogens at mucosal surfaces, and their frequency and function are altered in immunosuppressed individuals in sub-Saharan Africa, harnessing their function may offer an important therapeutic strategy to improve mucosal immunity.