Microglia Transcriptional States and Their Functional Significance: Context Drives Diversity

Medicine, Neurology, Life Sciences, Cell Biology, Biochemistry, Immunology,
microglia   transcriptional states   single-cell sequencing   brain microenvironment   functional diversity  

Academic Background Microglia are the only resident macrophages in the central nervous system (CNS) and play critical roles in development, homeostasis, and disease. Traditionally, microglia were viewed as homogeneous “resting” or “activated” states, but the advent of single-cell sequencing technologies has revealed their remarkable transcriptional...

Inflammasome Signaling in Astrocytes Modulates Hippocampal Plasticity

Medicine, Basic Medical Sciences, Neurology, Life Sciences, Cell Biology, Biochemistry, Immunology,
inflammasome   astrocytes   hippocampal plasticity   immune signaling   neurological diseases  

Academic Background In recent years, the role of immune signaling pathways in nervous system homeostasis has garnered increasing attention. Traditionally, the inflammasome, a core complex of innate immunity, was thought to activate only during infection or tissue damage, participating in pathological processes through caspase-1-mediated pyroptosis ...

Alcaligenes faecalis Induces Intestinal T Helper 17 Cells by Promoting E3 Ubiquitin Ligase TRIM21-Mediated FBXW7 Degradation

Medicine, Rheumatology and Immunology, Life Sciences, Cell Biology, Biochemistry, Immunology, Microbiology,
Alcaligenes faecalis   Th17 cells   TRIM21   FBXW7   ubiquitination   intestinal immunity   cell differentiation  

1. Research Background Intestinal Th17 cells play a central role in maintaining mucosal immune homeostasis and defending against pathogen infections. Previous studies identified segmented filamentous bacteria (SFB) as key microbes inducing intestinal Th17 cells, but controversies exist regarding SFB colonization in adult intestines: 1. Clinical Par...

Computationally Designed Proteins Mimic Antibody Immune Evasion in Viral Evolution

Medicine, Infectious Diseases, Life Sciences, Biochemistry, Bioengineering, Immunology, Microbiology,
computational design   immune evasion   viral evolution   vaccine evaluation   SARS-CoV-2  

Academic Background The continuous mutation of SARS-CoV-2 has posed ongoing challenges to the efficacy of vaccines and antibody therapies. Traditional evaluation methods can only test against existing variants and fail to predict future immune escape mutations. To address this, Noor Youssef and colleagues developed the EVE-Vax (Evolutionary Variant...

Phosphoantigen-Induced Inside-Out Stabilization of Butyrophilin Receptor Complexes Drives Dimerization-Dependent γδ TCR Activation

Medicine, Rheumatology and Immunology, Life Sciences, Cell Biology, Biochemistry, Immunology, Biophysics,
phosphoantigens   Butyrophilin receptor complexes   γδ TCR   dimerization   cell activation  

Academic Background γδ T cells are a unique subset of the immune system, characterized by T cell receptors (TCRs) composed of γ and δ chains that recognize non-peptide antigens, such as phosphoantigens (PAgs) produced by microbial or tumor cells. Among them, Vγ9Vδ2 T cells are the most abundant γδ T cell subset in human circulation and play a criti...

Vaccination of Nonhuman Primates Elicits a Broadly Neutralizing Antibody Lineage Targeting a Quaternary Epitope on the HIV-1 Env Trimer

Medicine, Infectious Diseases, Life Sciences, Cell Biology, Biochemistry, Immunology, Microbiology,
Nonhuman Primates   HIV-1 Env Trimer   Broadly Neutralizing Antibodies   Quaternary Epitope   Vaccination  

1. Research Background The envelope glycoprotein (Env) of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) is the primary target of neutralizing antibodies, but its high variability poses challenges for vaccine development. Broadly neutralizing antibodies (bnAbs) are rare in natural infections and typically require years to emerge. Although Env trimer m...