Rubina Bunjun

University of Cape Town | UCT · Division of Medical Virology

The development of a highly effective tuberculosis (TB) vaccine is likely dependent on our understanding of what constitutes a protective immune response to TB. Accumulating evidence suggests that CD4+ T cells producing IL-22, a distinct subset termed "Th22" cells, may contribute to protective immunity to TB. Thus, we characterized Mycobacterium tu...

Background: The ECHO Trial randomized women to intramuscular depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA-IM), levonorgestrel implant (LNG-implant), or copper intrauterine device (Cu-IUD). In a sub-study of the ECHO Trial, we tested the hypothesis that contraceptives influence genital inflammation by comparing cervicovaginal cytokine changes following...

Background Cervicovaginal inflammation, bacterial microbiota and hormonal contraceptives all influence sexual and reproductive health. To date, the effects of intramuscular depo-medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA-IM) versus injectable norethisterone enanthate (NET-EN) on vaginal microbiota or cytokines have not been compared back-to-back, although i...

HIV-1 infection substantially increases the risk of developing tuberculosis (TB). Mechanisms such as defects in the Th1 response to Mycobacterium tuberculosis in HIV-infected persons have been widely reported. However, Th1-independent mechanisms also contribute to protection against TB. To identify a broader spectrum of defects in TB immunity durin...

HIV-1 increases susceptibility to pulmonary infection and disease, suggesting pathogenesis in the lung. However, the lung immune environment during HIV infection remains poorly characterized. This study examined T cell activation and the cytokine milieu in paired bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) and blood from 36 HIV-uninfected and 32 HIV-infected part...

The development of a highly effective tuberculosis (TB) vaccine is likely dependent on our understanding of what constitutes a protective immune response to TB. Accumulating evidence suggests that CD4+ T cells producing IL-22, a distinct subset termed ‘Th22’ cells, may contribute to protective immunity to TB. Thus, we characterized Mycobacterium tu...

HIV-1 infection substantially increases the risk of developing tuberculosis (TB). Some mechanisms, such as defects in the Th1 response to Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M.tb) in HIV-infected individuals have been widely reported. However, Th1-independent mechanisms also contribute to protection against TB. To identify a broader spectrum of defects in...

Persistent antigen stimulation in chronic infections has been associated with antigen-specific T cell dysfunction and upregulation of inhibitory receptors, including programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1). Pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) disease is characterized by high levels of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), yet the relationship between bacterial...

HIV-1 infection substantially increases the risk of developing tuberculosis (TB). There is extensive depletion of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M.tuberculosis)-specific CD4+ T cells in blood in early HIV infection, but little is known about responses in the lungs at this stage. Given that mucosal organs are a principal target for HIV-mediated CD4 des...

HIV-1 is recognized to increase the risk for tuberculosis even before CD4+ T cell deficiency is profound. To better understand how HIV-1 alters immunity to latent tuberculosis, we compared the magnitude and functional profile of mycobacteria-specific CD4+ T cells between HIV-uninfected and HIV-infected individuals, using flow cytometry. In HIV-1 in...

Poxvirus vectors represent promising HIV vaccine candidates and were a component of the only successful HIV vaccine efficacy trial to date. We tested the immunogenicity of a novel recombinant Capripoxvirus vector, Lumpy Skin Disease Virus (LSDV) in combination with Modified Vaccinia Ankara (MVA), both expressing genes from HIV-1. Here, we demonstra...

We previously reported that a recombinant pantothenate auxotroph of Mycobacterium bovis BCG expressing HIV-1 subtype C Gag (rBCGpan-Gag) efficiently primes the mouse immune system for a boost with a rMVA vaccine. In this study, we further evaluated the immunogenicity of rBCGpan-Gag in a nonhuman primate model. Two groups of Chacma baboons were prim...