Volume 21 Issue 2, February 2020

A cell-intrinsic program induces circadian disarming of the toxic machinery of neutrophils in the steady state and prevents tissue injury.

Group 3 innate lymphoid cells (ILC3s) are critical for maintaining gut epithelial integrity and tissue repair. Recent research identifies mechanisms by which circadian machinery and feeding behavior regulate enteric ILC3s to maintain gut homeostasis.

A T cell recognizing the MHC class I–related molecule MR1, expressed by a wide range of cancer cell types, might have great potential for adoptive cell therapy in cancer.

A genome-wide screening of functionally active enhancers, combined with analyses of chromatin features, transcription factor binding and gene expression, reveals general principles of gene regulatory networks in activated B cells.

Comprehensive analysis of lung mononuclear phagocytes reveals four subsets with distinct basal transcriptomic and epigenomic landscapes and differing responses to inflammatory stimuli.

The fourth Innate Immune Memory meeting was held in the historic city of Nijmegen, in the eastern-central part of the Netherlands, to discuss the basic and translational aspects of innate immune memory, popularly known as ‘trained immunity’.

Radiation therapy has for decades been a standard form of treatment for many cancers. A Review by Galluzzi and colleagues explores the effects of radiation therapy in the context of the immune response.

Hidalgo and colleagues describe a cell-intrinsic program that induces changes in the proteome, granule content and NET-forming capacity of neutrophils and is driven by the chemokine receptor CXCR2 and regulators of the circadian clock.

Respiratory infections occur throughout life but how this shapes the lung immune system through time is unclear. Wack and colleagues show that a previous influenza infection recruits monocytes to the lung, which then assume an alveolar macrophage-like phenotype and mediate long-term antibacterial protection.

The protein STING has an essential function in intracellular DNA sensing, but how it is regulated under steady state is unclear. Yan and colleagues demonstrate that the protein TOLLIP stabilizes steady-state STING and facilitates its signaling.

Belz and colleagues show that the enteric neuron-derived neuropeptide VIP signals though its receptor VIPR on ILC3s to regulate the cyclic production of IL-22 in response to food intake.

Identifying selective tumor-associated molecules that can act as targets for T cells is a major goal of immunotherapy. Sewell and colleagues demonstrate that the nonclassical MHC molecule MR1 is expressed on a wide variety of cancer types and can be targeted by conventional T cells.

T cell homeostasis requires integration of signals from antigen and cytokine receptors. Gascoigne and colleagues demonstrate that the protein Themis supports signals from low-affinity TCR ligands to maintain normal CD8⁺ cell function.

A subset of HIV-infected individuals can develop broadly neutralizing antibodies. Boyd and colleagues studied such HIV-infected individuals and found significant perturbations in their antibody repertoires, including increased frequencies of B cells expressing antibodies with features associated with autoreactivity.

Singh and colleagues leverage genome-wide assays to identify functionally active enhancers that are present in naive and lipopolysaccharide-activated B cells by FAIRE–seq, STARR–seq and Hi-C structural interactome analyses and identify additional transcription factors that regulate gene expression modules.

The lung harbors multiple macrophage subsets that play distinct roles. Sajti and colleagues perform genome-wide epigenetic profiling on sorted populations of lung myeloid cell subsets to determine the effects of genetic background and inflammatory insults on gene expression patterns.