Wenqing Gao (高文青), PhD

Washington University in St. Louis

Biography

Dr. Gao got her bachelor’s degree from China Agricultural University in 2012, and completed her PhD study in Dr. Feng Shao's laboratory at the National Institute of Biological Sciences (NIBS) in 2017. After working in the same lab for one more year, she joined the lab of Dr. Jonathan Kipnis at University of Virginia in 2019 for her postdoc training and one year later move together with the lab to Washington University in St. Louis. Her current research focuses on neuroimmunology, particularly in developing T cell therapy for central nervous system pathologies.

Abstract

Traumatic injuries to the central nervous system (CNS) afflict millions of individuals worldwide, yet an effective treatment remains elusive. Following such injuries, the site is populated by a multitude of immune cells, including T cells, but a comprehensive understanding of these endogenous T cells has been lacking. By using single-cell RNA sequencing, we demonstrated the clonal expansion of spinal cord injury-associated T cells, and identified that CD4+ T cell clones in mice exhibit antigen specificity towards self-peptides of myelin and neuronal proteins. Leveraging mRNA-based T cell receptor (TCR) reconstitution, a strategy to minimize potential adverse effects from prolonged activation of self-reactive T cells, we generated engineered transiently autoimmune T cells. These cells demonstrated notable neuroprotective efficacy in CNS injury models by modulating myeloid cells activation. Our findings elucidate mechanistic insight underlying the neuroprotective function of T cells and pave the way for the future development of T cell therapies for CNS related pathologies.