Volume 19 Issue 6, June 2018

The metabolic master regulator mTORC1 is shown to promote alternative macrophage activation via Semaphorin 6D reverse signaling and reprogramming of lipid metabolism.

Human affinity-matured antibodies to Klebsiella pneumoniae lipopolysaccharide O-antigen have different patterns of glycan fine specificity without being polyreactive. These antibodies might constitute an important mechanism for homeostatic control of the intestinal microbiome.

Naive T cells migrate rapidly through the lymph node. A high-resolution look at the chemokine receptor CCR7 and integrin LFA-1 reveals that T cells remain highly responsive to their microenvironment via instantaneous tuning of chemokine-regulated actin flow and integrin-regulated adhesion.

Analysis of whole-blood transcriptional profiles in adults hospitalized with influenza reveals time- and severity-related gene-expression signatures.

Tuberculous meningitis is a serious, life-threatening disease affecting vulnerable populations, including HIV-infected individuals and young children. The US National Institutes of Health convened a workshop to identify knowledge gaps in the molecular and immunopathogenic mechanisms of tuberculous meningitis and to develop a roadmap for basic and translational research that could guide clinical studies.

In this Review, Moore and colleagues discuss regulation of macrophage immunometabolism in atherosclerosis.

Tissue-resident memory T cells provide immunological protection in peripheral tissues. Amsen et al. discuss the role of these cells in the context of anti-tumor immunity.

CARD9 serves as an adaptor for C-type lectin receptor signaling. Xin Lin and colleagues show that CARD9 inhibits RelB-mediated IL-5 expression. The CARD9^S12N mutant, prevalent in humans, cannot interact with RelB and promotes enhanced allergic responses to fungal pathogens.

Semaphorins play well-known roles in axon guidance. Kumanogoh and colleagues demonstrate that Semaphorin 6D cell-intrinsically activates anti-inflammatory macrophage polarization.

McGaha and colleagues show that phagocytosis of apoptotic cells leads to activation of the transcription factor AhR and production of the cytokine IL-10 in phagocytes, in a manner dependent on the recognition of DNA.

Dyslipidemia and autoimmune disease are often associated. Chung and colleagues demonstrate a mechanistic pathway by which dyslipidemia leads to the induction of pathogenic autoantibodies.

D’Angelo and colleagues show that the nucleoporin Nup210 plays a specific role in naïve CD4⁺ T cell homeostasis by regulating expression of Caveolin-2, which is required for tonic TCR signaling.

Sixt, Stein and colleagues show that during T cell migration within lymphatic organs, the chemokine receptor CCR7 quantitatively controls the speed of a continuous actin flow, which is coupled to the environment by the integrin LFA-1.

Carbohydrate-specific antibodies are typically thought to be of low affinity and produced by T cell–independent pathways. Wardemann and colleagues identify human memory B cells that can produce specific ‘affinity-matured’ antibodies to the O antigen of Klebsiella lipopolysaccharides.

Influenza can occasionally result in life-threatening sequelae. Openshaw and colleagues describe the functional and transcriptional response to natural infection with influenza virus and find that a transition to an ‘anti-bacterial response’ is associated with more-severe symptoms.

Isolating tissue-resident cells runs the risk of altering their expression profile. Jung and colleagues use a RiboTagging approach to describe the microglial translatome and demonstrate that macrophage extraction from their tissue environment results in significant transcriptional alterations.