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A specialized subset of iNKT cells populates the skin in early life, where their supply of transferrin regulates iron metabolism to promote hair follicle development.
Sterol regulatory element-binding protein (SREBP) signaling regulates cellular lipid homeostasis. We discovered that SREBP signaling in B cells is crucial for antibody responses and the generation of germinal centers and B cell memory compartments in response to vaccination. These results provide mechanistic insights that couple sterol metabolism to the quality and longevity of humoral immunity.
Signaling via T cell antigen receptors is diminished during aging. But paradoxically, CD4+ T cells from older adults tend to differentiate into effector-like rather than memory cells. An altered balance between the activities of HELIOS, IL-2Rα, and STAT5 influences this decision.
Expression of the inhibitory receptor PD-1 on regulatory T cells in the tumor microenvironment provides intrinsic stabilization, proliferation and metabolic rewiring signals to restrain tumor immunity.
Diverse inflammasome stimuli recruit NLRP3 to dysfunctional endosomes via interactions with lipids that accumulate in excess on these organelles. Excess lipid detection may be a common principle that explains NLRP3 function in health and disease.
Interactions between the T cell co-receptors CD4 or CD8 and the kinase Lck safeguard T cell activation by low-affinity ligands. Meanwhile, ‘free’ Lck — which cannot bind co-receptors — elicits efficient anti-viral and anti-tumor responses by CD8+ T cells in vivo.
Aging is commonly associated with the loss of cognitive capacity driven by the degeneration of the brain. New research strengthens the links between CD8+ T cells and interferon-γ production in the brain, and neurodegeneration.
On 15–16 June 2022, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases hosted a virtual workshop on the topic of T cell technologies to discuss assays, novel technology development, bench and clinical application of those technologies, and challenges and innovations in the field.
