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At least five recent papers have shown an unexpected antigenic relationship between Zika and dengue viruses, with potential implications for vaccines and therapeutics.
The thymic development of CD8+ T cells requires the presentation of different sets of peptides on major histocompatibility complex class I for positive selection and negative selection.
The Pyrin inflammasome guard is disabled if the activity of small cellular GTPase is compromised in response to defects in the mevalonate pathway and is disabled directly by mutations in the gene encoding Pyrin, which results in the interleukin 1β (IL-1β)-driven autoinflammatory diseases MKD and FMF.
The E3 ubiquitin ligase Itch limits interleukin 17A (IL-17A)-mediated intestinal inflammation by targeting the transcription factor ROR-γt for proteasomal degradation.
Induction of the transcription factor Bcl11b in early T cell precursors is supported by three positive forces: signaling via the transmembrane receptor Notch1 provides stochastic permissivity; the transcription factors TCF-1 and GATA-3 poise the locus for expression; and the transcription factor Runx1 steps in to raise expression.
In natural killer (NK) cells, CIS restrains a signaling pathway elicited by interleukin 15 (IL-15) that leads to activation of the kinase JAK1. Removal of CIS from NK cells increases their capacity to reduce the metastatic dissemination of breast cancer and melanoma in mice.
B cell and T cell memory differentiation requires the transcription factor Bach2, which inhibits the effector-cell fate by limiting antigen-receptor-stimulation-induced gene expression and restricting premature expression of the transcriptional regulator Blimp-1.
Perivascular and subdural meningeal macrophages at the interface between the central nervous system and the periphery are self-renewing and arise from early embryonic precursors. Macrophages residing in the choroid plexus have dual origin, developing from circulating bone-marrow-derived monocytes and embryonic progenitors.
Tissue-resident innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) perform diverse roles in regulating mucosal homeostasis and inflammation. The transdifferentiation of ILC2s into interferon-γ (IFN-γ)-producing ILC1-like cells generates a highly inflammatory immune cell.
The transcription factors Tcf1 and Lef1 have intrinsic histone-deacetylase activity that is required for the repression of CD4+ T cell–lineage genes in CD8+ T cells.
Single-cell transcriptome analysis has identified progenitor populations with mast-cell and eosinophil potential that are distinct from the neutrophil-monocyte lineage, segregate early in hematopoietic development and can be discriminated by expression of the transcription factor GATA-1.
Nutrient transport is regulated by signaling pathways that together indicate metabolic checkpoints in T cell self-renewal, differentiation and proliferation.
Chronic viral infections are characterized by ongoing inflammation and a dysfunctional T cell response, which results in a failure of the host to clear the pathogen. Now these two hallmarks of infection have been linked by the classic pro-inflammatory cytokine tumor-necrosis factor.
Regulatory T cells must limit activation of the metabolic checkpoint kinase mTOR to maintain their identity. The lipid ceramide serves a unique role in this process by inducing phosphatase PP2A–mediated inhibition of the mTORC1 complex.
Studies using genetic tools have identified the distinct dendritic cell subsets that ensure tolerance to oral antigens in the antigen-rich environment of the gut and suggest a 'division of labor' for protective immunity.
Patients with XLPDR are found to carry an intronic hypomorphic mutation in the gene encoding the catalytic subunit of DNA polymerase-α. Patients' cells display low levels of cytoplasmic RNA:DNA hybrids, which increases the expression of interferon-α-induced genes, a hallmark of monogenic 'type I interferonopathies'.
Single-cell RNA sequencing of human innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) reveals conserved transcriptional programs and defines previously unappreciated heterogeneity. These findings pave the way for future investigation of the function and therapeutic potential of ILCs in human health and disease.
The detection of cytosolic DNA by the sensor cGAS triggers potent antiviral responses. New data now propose that cGAS is regulated on a post-translational level by glutamylation.
The silencing of autoreactive immature B cells is regulated by the binding of self antigens to B cell antigen receptors. New findings show that microRNAs control mechanisms of B cell tolerance.
