Behar Lab

Research focus

NIH R01 · 2025

PROTECTIVE CD8 T CELL RESPONSES to TUBERCULOSIS

Project Summary. Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) is a leading cause of human deaths around the world. Despite eliciting a vigorous immune response, Mtb evolved to adapt to its host and evade clearance. While this idea was originally based on its ability to survive in the phagosome and avoid antibody immunity, we now know that Mtb also avoids T cell immunity. Mtb elicits strong CD8 T cell responses in people and CD8 T cell responses contribute to protection against Mtb in animal models. My research program has discovered that (1) not all Mtb- specific T cells recognize Mtb-infected macrophages; (2) CD8 T cells require CD4 help to maintain effector function and avoid exhaustion; and (3)…

From the public funding record at NIH RePORTER. Describes the funded project, not the reviews below.