Volume 25 Issue 7, July 2024

The developmental relationship between natural killer (NK) cells and other innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) has been a subject of scrutiny in recent years. Two studies now identify an early precursor committed to the NK cell lineage.

Adaptation to hypoxia and immune escape are two hallmarks of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection. The d-serine isomer has now been identified as a factor produced by M. tuberculosis upon hypoxic conditions, dampening CD8⁺ T cell responses.

Dendritic cells migrate to and from lymph nodes in response to chemokine gradients.Data now show that steady-state migration of these cells can be triggered by a mechanosensitive pathway.

Immune responses are subject to circadian regulation, but circadian effects on antitumor immune response are unknown. Disruption of intestinal circadian rhythms is now shown to promote immunosuppression by altering the tumor immune microenvironment (TIME) in colorectal cancer.

IL-1R1 signaling in neural stem cells reduces hippocampal neurogenesis in adult mice, potentially affecting learning and memory. Using a new mouse model, we report that IL-1β drives cognitive impairment after infection with SARS-CoV-2, and that IL-1β-driven cognitive impairment can be prevented by vaccination, even in cases of breakthrough infection.

Variation in inter-individual immune phenotypes can be influenced by both genetics and environmental factors. Using a range of different inbred strains of mice that were kept either indoors or in an outdoor enclosure — ‘rewilded’ — we found that both genetics and environment combine to dictate an individual’s immune profile and outcome to parasitic helminth infections.

The molecular basis for the efficacy of ZED1227 — a transglutaminase 2 inhibitor — in celiac disease is unknown. We show that orally administered ZED1227 effectively prevented gluten-induced intestinal damage and inflammation at the transcriptome level, and that individuals with high-risk HLA class II celiac disease consistently display a more ‘deteriorated’ molecular phenotype.

Improved understanding of CD8⁺ T cell function during HIV infection is vital to designing an HIV cure. We have identified a subset of lymph node CD8⁺ T cells that demonstrate simultaneous stem-like and effector properties and are strongly associated with viral control during SIV and HIV infection.

In this Review, the authors summarize the literature around immune cancer cell STING signaling and how it is finely balanced between pro-tumorigenic and anti-tumorigenic functions.

SARS-CoV-2 has been shown to induce IL-1β-mediated neuroinflammation in humans and rodent models. Klein and colleagues show that low-dose COVID-19 vaccination prevents breakthrough infection-mediated hippocampal dysfunction and cognitive memory decline in mouse models.

Bendelac, McDonald and colleagues show that the NK cell-committed precursor in the mouse bone marrow expresses the transcription factor Eomes.

Bhandoola and colleagues describe the existence of two pathways of NK cell development that generate functionally distinct NK cell subsets in mice, and which may be conserved in humans.

Dendritic cells experience cell shape changes while migrating within the complex physical environment of tissues. Sensing of these shape changes modifies their migratory properties and imprints these cells with immunoregulatory properties.

Here the authors identify and characterize the development and function of an IFN-γ-producing CD8αβ⁺ subset of γδ T cells that contributes to malignancy.

Viiri and colleagues show that an orally administered transglutaminase 2 inhibitor prevented gluten-induced intestinal damage and inflammation at the transcriptional level.

Li et al. identify a human TCF1-expressing stem-like T cell population that is associated with immune-mediated pathogenesis in ulcerative colitis.

Paiardini and colleagues describe a subset of lymph node HIV- and SIV-specific TOX^hiTCF1⁺CD39⁺CD8⁺ T cells that coexhibit stem- and effector-like phenotypic and transcriptional profiles and associate with reduced viral burden.

Immunosuppression is regulated by the circadian clock and can be leveraged to promote the efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy.

Oyesola and colleagues show that rewilding mice reveals how genotype and environment combine to determine interindividual immune variation.

Shlomchik and colleagues uncover a positive feedback loop between interleukin-12 and interferon-γ, which promotes extrafollicular plasmablast differentiation and suppresses germinal center formation.

Woolf and colleagues use single-cell transcriptomics to determine the gene signature of infiltrating immune cells and potential cell–cell interactions between receptors, ligands, ion channels and metabolites expressed on immune cells and sensory neurons in three models of pain.