2015年5月5日，我院熊思东教授在Antiviral Research杂志发表了题为“AIM2 co-immunization favors specific multifunctional CD8+ T cell induction and ameliorates coxsackievirus B3-induced chronic myocarditis”的研究论文，该论文揭示了一种CVB3诱导的慢性心肌炎的新治疗思路。
研究生柴大飞为该论文的第一作者。参与该论文研究的还有岳艳副教授，徐薇教授和董春升副教授等。熊思东教授为该论文的通讯作者。该项研究由国家重点基础研究发展计划(2013CB530501)，国家自然科学基金(31470880，31170878)，江苏省高校自然科学研究项目(12KJB310015)，江苏省“333高层次人才培养工程”，江苏省创新团队，江苏省高校青蓝工程，江苏省高校优势学科建设工程(PAPD)等基金资助。
文章摘要：
Coxsackievirus B3 (CVB3) infection can cause acute myocarditis and chronic myocarditis, leading to dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) with no effective therapeutic strategy. Therefore, we investigated the potential of absent in melanoma2 (AIM2) to enhance the therapeutic efficacy of DNA vaccine against CVB3-induced chronic myocarditis. Mice were infected with CVB3 and then intranasally immunized with chitosan-pcDNA3.1 (mock), chitosan-pAIM2 (CS-pAIM2),chitosan-pVP1 (CS-pVP1), or chitosan-pAIM2 plus chitosan-pVP1(CS-pAIM2/CS-pVP1) at 7, 21, and 35 d. Therapeutic efficacies of various vaccines were evaluated at day 56 d. Compared with CS-pVP1 immunization,CS-pAIM2/CS-pVP1 co-immunization significantly increased survival rate, improved cardiac function, as well as decreased myocardial injury and fibrosis, this result indicated that CVB3-induced chronic myocarditis was alleviated. CVB3-specificT lymphocyte proliferation and cytotoxic T lymphocyte responses of the CS-pAIM2/CS-pVP1 co-immunization group were also increased. More interestingly, CS-pAIM2/CS-pVP1 co-immunization could facilitate CVB3-specific multifunctional CD8+T cell induction in the intestinal mucosa, and this induction was closely correlated with myocardial scores, this result indicated that CS-pAIM2/CS-pVP1 vaccine exhibits therapeutic efficacy by enhancing multifunctional CD8+T cells. This study may represent a novel therapy for CVB3-induced chronic myocarditis.