Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Alfred Fillol-Salom, Jakob T. Rostol, Adaeze D. Ojiogu, John Chen, Gill Douce, Suzanne Humphrey, Jose R. Penades
Summary: This study discovers a important anti-phage system in bacteria called phage-inducible chromosomal islands (PICIs), which can be disseminated intra-and inter-generically by helper phages and provide broad immunity. Results show that phages can mobilize PICI-encoded immunity systems to use them against other mobile genetic elements, which compete with the phages for the same bacterial hosts. This finding has significant implications for phages, bacteria, and horizontal gene transfer control.
Review
Cell Biology
David Mayo-Munoz, Rafael Pinilla-Redondo, Nils Birkholz, Peter C. Fineran
Summary: Prokaryotes acquire beneficial traits through mobile genetic elements (MGEs) but also face fitness costs. To counteract this, prokaryotes have evolved diverse immune mechanisms against MGEs. The understanding of prokaryotic immune systems has expanded, revealing strategies that degrade genetic material, inhibit genome replication, or trigger abortive infection. The study of prokaryotic defenses not only sheds light on microbial evolution but also identifies enzymatic activities with biotechnological applications.
Article
Biology
Brian P. Lazzaro, Ann T. Tate
Summary: Activation and deactivation of the immune response play a crucial role in balancing the immune system. An optimal immune system responds rapidly and robustly to infection threats, and quickly deactivates once the threat is controlled. Genetic variation can influence the sensitivity of the immune system and the dynamics of immune response, affecting pathogen virulence and host tolerance of infection. Understanding immune regulatory dynamics helps clarify the fundamental principles underlying the evolution and maintenance of innate immune systems.
CURRENT OPINION IN INSECT SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Andrea Olmos-Ortiz, Mayra Hernandez-Perez, Pilar Flores-Espinosa, Gabriela Sedano, Addy Cecilia Helguera-Repetto, Oscar Villavicencio-Carrisoza, Maria Yolotzin Valdespino-Vazquez, Arturo Flores-Pliego, Claudine Irles, Bruno Rivas-Santiago, Elsa Romelia Moreno-Verduzco, Lorenza Diaz, Veronica Zaga-Clavellina
Summary: Infectious processes in the uterine cavity can compromise the maternal-fetal unit and increase the risk of preterm birth and premature rupture of membranes. This study aimed to characterize the synthesis, activity, and distribution of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) produced by fetal membranes in response to a choriodecidual Escherichia coli infection. The results showed a temporal- and tissue-specific pattern of AMP synthesis, but the membranes were unable to contain bacterial growth and migration despite the production of AMPs, increasing the risk of preterm birth and premature rupture of membranes.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Fisheries
Xue-peng Li, Jian Zhang
Summary: The expression patterns of IL-10 receptor 1 and receptor 2 in tongue sole were examined in this study, revealing their regulation by bacterial challenge. In vitro binding studies showed that rCsIL-10R1ex could bind with rCsIL-10, while cellular study demonstrated the inhibitory effect of CsIL-10 on ROS production of PBLs through CsIL-10R1 and CsIL-10R2 expression.
DEVELOPMENTAL AND COMPARATIVE IMMUNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Beatriz Acuna Hidalgo, Luis M. Silva, Mathias Franz, Roland R. Regoes, Sophie A. O. Armitage
Summary: The relationship between virulence and pathogen clearance in the context of bacterial infections in Drosophila melanogaster is explored. The study demonstrates that variation in infection outcomes is determined by differences in bacterial infection intensity and parasite pathogenicity, while pathogen clearance is influenced by early-phase exploitation. The application of the virulence decomposition framework provides valuable insights into host-pathogen interactions.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Editorial Material
Medicine, Research & Experimental
Philip A. Mudd, Kenneth E. Remy
Summary: Observational clinical research has highlighted the immune response to SARS-CoV-2 during the COVID-19 pandemic, indicating that immune dysregulation and prolonged adaptive immune system activation can lead to cellular exhaustion. A recent study compared cellular immune phenotypes in hospitalized and non-hospitalized COVID-19 patients, revealing consistent activation and cellular exhaustion in both groups. Follow-up samples from non-hospitalized patients showed increasing activation markers and cellular exhaustion over time, suggesting potential long-term effects on immunity maintenance to SARS-CoV-2.
JOURNAL OF CLINICAL INVESTIGATION
(2021)
Article
Immunology
Hyeong Won Kim, Mi-Kyeong Ko, So Hui Park, Seong Yun Hwang, Dong Hyeon Kim, Sun Young Park, Young-Joon Ko, Su-Mi Kim, Jong-Hyeon Park, Min Ja Lee
Summary: This study presents a novel foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) vaccine containing an immunomodulatory adjuvant, beta-D-glucan, to overcome the limitations of conventional vaccines. In vitro and in vivo experiments demonstrated that beta-D-glucan promoted innate and adaptive immune responses in mice and pigs. The vaccine induced a robust cellular immune response and provided early, mid-, and long-term immunity.
FRONTIERS IN IMMUNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Immunology
Flor Torres-Juarez, Luis A. Trejo-Martinez, Esther Layseca-Espinosa, Juan C. Leon-Contreras, Jose A. Enciso-Moreno, Rogelio Hernandez-Pando, Bruno Rivas-Santiago
Summary: The study results indicate that platelets can be recruited into the granuloma in the late stages of tuberculosis and participate in the immune response against Mtb by producing host defense peptides and cytokines.
MICROBIAL PATHOGENESIS
(2021)
Article
Fisheries
Xiudan Xu, Ling Liu, Jixing Feng, Xuepeng Li, Jian Zhang
Summary: This study revealed the suppressed anti-viral immune-related pathways during megalocytivirus infection, and identified a set of potential immune genes/pathways targeted by the virus. This provides valuable resources for investigating the molecular mechanisms of immune defense and viral immune escape.
FISH & SHELLFISH IMMUNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Thomas Plum, Rebecca Binzberger, Robin Thiele, Fuwei Shang, Daniel Postrach, Candice Fung, Marina Fortea, Nathalie Stakenborg, Zheng Wang, Anke Tappe-Theodor, Tanja Poth, Duncan A. A. MacLaren, Guy Boeckxstaens, Rohini Kuner, Claudia Pitzer, Hannah Monyer, Cuiyan Xin, Joseph V. Bonventre, Satoshi Tanaka, David Voehringer, Pieter Vanden Berghe, Jessica Strid, Thorsten B. Feyerabend, Hans-Reimer Rodewald
Summary: The physiological functions of mast cells are not well understood. Mast cells are involved in type 2 immunity and promote allergic diseases through the interaction with immunoglobulin E (IgE). However, allergic symptoms may also facilitate the elimination of allergens, toxins, and parasites and trigger future antigen avoidance. In this study, mast cells were found to be crucial for antigen-specific avoidance behavior in inbred mice. This behavior prevented immune activation and inflammation in the stomach and small intestine. Antigen avoidance was dependent on IgE and regulated by Th2 cytokines in the immunization phase and by IgE in the execution phase. Mucosal mast cells quickly detected the ingestion of antigens. Multiple signaling pathways between mast cells and the brain were identified. Inhibition of leukotriene synthesis impaired avoidance, but no single pathway interruption completely abolished it, suggesting complex regulation. Overall, antigen avoidance mediated by mast cells may play an important role in preventing immunopathology and repeated ingestion of toxins.
Article
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Young Jae Kim, June-Young Lee, Jae Jin Lee, Sang Min Jeon, Prashanta Silwal, In Soo Kim, Hyeon Ji Kim, Cho Rong Park, Chaeuk Chung, Jeong Eun Han, Jee-Won Choi, Euon Jung Tak, Ji-Ho Yoo, Su-Won Jeong, Do-Yeon Kim, Warisa Ketphan, Su-Young Kim, Byung Woo Jhun, Jake Whang, Jin-Man Kim, Hyungjin Eoh, Jin-Woo Bae, Eun-Kyeong Jo
Summary: The study demonstrates that l-arginine enhances pulmonary immune defense against nontuberculous mycobacterial pulmonary diseases (NTM-PD) by influencing the gut-lung axis, increasing the number of IFN-gamma-producing effector T cells and M1 macrophages in the lungs, and enhancing antimicrobial activity.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Ilya Andreev, Kamilla M. E. Laidlaw, Simone M. Giovanetti, Guillaume Urtecho, Daniel Shriner, Joshua S. Bloom, Chris MacDonald, Meru J. Sadhu
Summary: Secreted protein toxins play important roles in conflicts between organisms. Understanding how organisms genetically adapt to defend themselves against these toxins is crucial for understanding the coevolutionary dynamics of competing organisms. This study discovered a novel defense factor, KTD1, which is critical in resisting the killer toxin K28.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2023)
Review
Immunology
Qiuning Liu, Saima Kausar, Yingyu Tang, Wuren Huang, Boping Tang, Muhammad Nadeem Abbas, Lishang Dai
Summary: The STING signaling pathway plays a crucial role in sensing and responding to microbial infections in insects and other animal cells. Understanding its regulation and the strategies used by microbial pathogens to evade this pathway is important for combating infections.
FRONTIERS IN IMMUNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Dawei Liu, Krystal K. Lum, Nicholas Treen, Corazon T. Nunez, Jinhang Yang, Timothy R. Howard, Michael Levine, Ileana M. Cristea
Summary: IFI16 is an important sensor of nuclear pathogenic DNA that initiates innate immune responses through liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) and suppresses viral transcription. Phosphorylation of multiple sites within the intrinsically disordered region (IDR) of IFI16 combinatorially activates LLPS, enabling its filamentation and decoupling of immune signaling from viral transcription repression. These findings demonstrate how IFI16 achieves switch-like phase transitions with temporal resolution and reveal the multi-layered regulation of nuclear DNA sensors.
NUCLEIC ACIDS RESEARCH
(2023)