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A preprint by Zhou et al. shows that the clinical efficacy of immune checkpoint blockade in patients with cancer does not depend on the presence of tumour-draining lymph nodes, as their role is taken over by more distant lymph nodes.
Re-exposure to a previously encountered antigen leads to robust antibody responses and the formation of ‘recall’ germinal centres. A preprint by Schiepers et al. shows that antibody feedback in these germinal centres ensures the maturation of naive B cells that can target escape epitopes.
In this Tools of the Trade article, Giulia Adriani and Andrea Pavesi describe a new microfluidic device that supports the generation of vascularized 3D tumour models.
In this Tools of the Trade article, Zülal Cibir and Matthias Gunzer introduce their multi-lens array microscope called ComplexEye that allows high-throughput analysis of cell migration.
Investigation of neutrophil heterogeneity in tumours reveals the irreversible programming of long-lived, pro-angiogenic neutrophils that drive tumour progression.
A preprint by Kim et al. shows that the brain parenchyma can be seeded with age with clonal haematopoiesis-derived monocytes that drive neuropathology.
While anticipating the development of a COVID-19-specific vaccine, several randomized controlled trials (RCTs) explored the potential of BCG vaccination to protect against COVID-19, based on trials demonstrating beneficial effects of BCG vaccination on unrelated infections and all-cause mortality in neonates in high-mortality geographical settings. Results are now available from 12 RCTs, which suggest that BCG vaccination is not an effective intervention against COVID-19. That the BCG–COVID-19 trials failed to meet expectation emphasizes the importance of rigorous clinical trials to validate hypotheses, even in urgent situations such as a pandemic.
A preprint by Kwok et al. describes the identification of common neojunction-derived antigens that could serve as targets for ‘off the shelf’ vaccines or adoptive cell therapies for patients with various types of cancer.