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Smith and colleagues find that a multivariate signature of unresolved inflammation and altered iron homeostasis detected beyond 2 weeks following acute COVID-19 onset was the strongest early differentiator of those who report long COVID symptoms at 3–10 months.
Schäfer et al. discuss the application of computational methods that integrate single-cell and spatial multi-omics with existing biological knowledge to inform our understanding of immunological responses.
A study identifies an increase in the tissue-protective factor HB-EGF during the initial stage of multiple sclerosis (MS), which is actively turned off as the disease worsens.
Linnerbauer and colleagues find that HB-EGF produced by reactive astrocytes is protective during autoimmune neuroinflammation, but epigenetically suppressed during late stages.
Here the authors use positron emission tomography to visualize fibroblasts in patients with arthritis and combined with spatial transcriptomic data show that these cells undergo a phenotypic shift upon resolution of inflammation. A CD200+DKK3+ fibroblast subset promotes this resolution by inhibiting tumor necrosis factor and interleukin-17A.
Bacillus Calmette–Guérin (BCG) is the only available vaccine against tuberculosis. As well as being an effective vaccine against tuberculosis, BCG also provides off-target protection against various pathogens. Here, we report a mechanism for BCG-mediated cross-protection against influenza A virus (IAV), which requires a dialogue between the innate and adaptive immune memory systems.
In this study, we developed an adenoviral-vectored vaccine that targets the spike protein of BA.5 Omicron SARS-CoV-2. When nasally delivered in mice and hamsters, the vaccine stimulated mucosal antibody production and CD8+ T cell responses, and demonstrated protection against several SARS-CoV-2 strains, including the antigenically distant Omicron XBB.1.5 strain. Immune cell depletion studies showed that cross-reactive memory CD8+ T cells contribute to the cross-protection that is conferred by nasal vaccines against respiratory infection with antigenically shifted SARS-CoV-2 Omicron strains.
Visceral adipose tissue hosts at least two populations of mature FOXP3+ regulatory T cells, which together can preserve systemic metabolism and control inflammation.
Intratumoral regulatory T (Treg) cells can suppress antitumor immunity. Unlike in splenic Treg cells, the H3K9me2 demethylase JMDJ1 seems to be induced, and is required for this function, in the tumor microenvironment, and targeting it with a small-molecule inhibitor can suppress tumor growth in mice.
IL-23 promotes tumor growth in preclinical cancer models and correlates with adverse clinical outcomes. Here, Becher and colleagues find that IL-23 produced by tumor-associated macrophages stabilizes Treg cell identity, promoting immunosuppression and tumor growth.
Here, the authors target intratumoral Treg cells to enhance antitumor immunity without affecting systemic Treg cell function and identify JMJD1C as a critical epigenetic regulator of tumor Treg cell fitness.
Here, the authors characterize two distinct Treg cell populations in the visceral adipose tissue of lean and high-fat diet-fed mice. ST2+ Treg cells are dominant in male mice and are transcriptionally driven by GATA3 and PPARγ, regulators that limit the differentiation of the more female-dominant population of CXCR3+ Treg cells that are T-bet dependent. Functional distinctions are also evident in glucose tolerance and adipose inflammation.
Understanding the ontogeny of conventional dendritic cells (cDCs) is a major aim in the field. The fate of progenitors of the recently described subsets of mouse cDC2s (cDC2A and cDC2B) is determined in the bone marrow.
Reis e Sousa et al. show that cDC2As and cDC2Bs are derived from distinct subsets of bone marrow pre-cDC2s, suggesting that the two lineages are ontogenetically determined.
Here, the authors enhance their nasally delivered chimpanzee adenoviral-vectored SARS-CoV-2 vaccine with an Omicron-matched vaccine (ChAd-SARS-CoV-2-BA.5-S) that stimulates mucosal immunity in mice and hamsters and shows cross-reactive CD8+ memory T cell-driven protection against antigenically distant strains.
The development of therapies for ischemic stroke requires a deep understanding of the immune response to injury. Analysis now defines immune cell origin, disease stage-specific responses, and the effects of age and sex after ischemic stroke.