Forum Geneva 2023 - Le salon de carrière

New study in Science Immunology shows that individuals with Parkinson's disease exhibit decreased levels of CD8+ memory T cells and fail to generate memory T cells in response to COVID-19 vaccination. This underscores the critical importance of mitochondrial quality control in the formation of CD8+ memory T cells. The research*, published in Science Immunology , was conducted by Dr Fabien Franco and directed by Pr Ping-Chih Ho , member of the Lausanne Branch of the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, in the Oncology department UNIL-CHUV. Mitophagy, a crucial safeguarding process for maintaining mitochondrial quality, is frequently compromised in human diseases, such as Parkinson's disease. However, its role in adaptive immunity has not been well-understood. Notably, the differentiation and survival of memory CD8+ T cells hinge on oxidative metabolism, which necessitates robust mitochondrial quality control. The regulatory networks controlling mitophagy work in tandem with mitochondrial dynamics and functional adjustments to safeguard against cell death when memory T cells are being generated.