Gene expression profling of BAL cells in people living with HIV and healthy controls in response to Mtb infection at single cell resolution

Understanding why PLWH remain highly susceptible to TB despite anti-retroviral therapy (ART) is critical for improving treatment and prevention strategies. We aimed to determine how HIV impacts the transcriptional responses of AMs and other immune cells in response to Mtb infection at the single cell level using ScRNAseq. Our analyses revealed that transcriptional responses of AMs from PLWH following Mtb infection show significant deficits in costimulatory capacity and TNF/IL-6 signaling networks. Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) samples were collected from HC and PLWH on ART in Atlanta, GA. Single cell transcriptional profiling was assessed by scRNAseq (10x Genomics), both at baseline and after 4 hours of infection with Mtb ex vivo.