Immunology

Mast cell activation disrupts interactions between endothelial cells and pericytes during early life allergic asthma

1. Régis Joulia
2. Franz Puttur
3. Helen Stölting
4. William J. Traves
5. Lewis J. Entwistle
6. Anastasia Voitovich
7. Minerva Garcia Martín
8. May Al-Sahaf
9. Katie Bonner
10. Elizabeth Scotney
11. Philip L. Molyneaux
12. Richard J. Hewitt
13. Simone A. Walker
14. Laura Yates
15. Sejal Saglani
16. Clare M. Lloyd

Reviewed by Arcadia Science

Inhibition of the UFD-1-NPL-4 complex triggers an inflammation-like response in Caenorhabditis elegans

1. Rajneesh Rao
2. Alejandro Aballay
3. Jogender Singh

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  In this valuable study, the authors investigate the role of the UFD-1/NPL-4 complex in the response of C. elegans to infection. While the work is of interest to the field, several pieces of evidence are incomplete, including a lack of validation of the inferences from the RNAi experiments with mutant analyses. There is also the question whether the UFD-1/NPL-4 complex might be better described as regulating "tolerance" to infection instead of inflammation.

Reviewed by eLife

Nifuroxazide suppresses PD-L1 expression and enhances the efficacy of radiotherapy in hepatocellular carcinoma

1. Tiesuo Zhao
2. Pengkun Wei
3. Congli Zhang
4. Shijie Zhou
5. Lirui Liang
6. Shuoshuo Guo
7. Zhinan Yin
8. Sichang Cheng
9. Zerui Gan
10. Yuanling Xia
11. Yongxi Zhang
12. Sheng Guo
13. Jiateng Zhong
14. Zishan Yang
15. Fei Tu
16. Qianqing Wang
17. Jin Bai
18. Feng Ren
19. Zhiwei Feng
20. Huijie Jia

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  This valuable study evaluates the effects of nifuroxazide on radiotherapy for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma. Solid evidence is provided to support the conclusion that nifuroxazide facilitates the downregulation of PD-L1 and may improve therapy outcomes when combined with radiotherapy, though the inclusion of additional cell lines and animal models would have strengthened the study. This work will be of interest to cancer biologists and those working in immuno-oncology.

Reviewed by eLife

Paradoxical imbalance between activated lymphocyte protein synthesis capacity and rapid division rate

1. Mina O Seedhom
2. Devin Dersh
3. Jaroslav Holly
4. Mariana Pavon-Eternod
5. Jiajie Wei
6. Matthew Angel
7. Lucas Shores
8. Alexandre David
9. Jefferson Santos
10. Heather Hickman
11. Jonathan W Yewdell

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  This study addresses how protein synthesis in activated lymphocytes keeps up with their rapid division, with important findings that are of significance to cell biologists and immunologists endeavouring to understand the 'economy' of the immune system. The work is supported by solid data. Because it proposes non-conventional mechanisms, the study sets the scene for further work in this area.

Reviewed by eLife

TLR2 regulates hair follicle cycle and regeneration via BMP signaling

1. Luyang Xiong
2. Irina Zhevlakova
3. Xiaoxia Z West
4. Detao Gao
5. Rakhilya Murtazina
6. Anthony Horak
7. J Mark Brown
8. Iuliia Molokotina
9. Eugene A Podrez
10. Tatiana V Byzova

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  Toll like receptor 2 (TLR2) signaling has traditionally been viewed a surface protein that induces innate immune responses and improves acquired immunity. Here, the authors suggest a different role for TLR2 in the hair cycle. By using a Cre reporter that is largely, but not solely active in hair follicle stem cells, the authors conditionally delete Tlr2 in mice and report that BMP signaling is sustained and hair cycle entry is delayed. Delving further, the authors identify CEP (2-ω-carboxyethyl pyrrole) as an endogenous ligand of TLR2 in hair follicle stem cell regulation. Although a role for TLR2 signaling in hair follicle stem cells is potentially novel and important, the reviewers remain in consensus that evidence presented in two significant areas continues to be incomplete: 1) where TLR2 and CEP are expressed and how specific is their expression to the hair follicle stem cells; 2) whether as the authors suggest, TLR2 functions by regulating BMP signaling in the stem cell niche of the hair follicle.

Reviewed by eLife, preLights

A “suicide” BCG strain provides enhanced immunogenicity and robust protection against Mycobacterium tuberculosis in macaques

1. Alexander A Smith
2. Hongwei Su
3. Joshua Wallach
4. Yao Liu
5. Pauline Maiello
6. H Jacob Borish
7. Caylin Winchell
8. Andrew W Simonson
9. Philana Ling Lin
10. Mark Rodgers
11. Daniel Fillmore
12. Jennifer Sakal
13. Kan Lin
14. Valerie Vinette
15. Dirk Schnappinger
16. Sabine Ehrt
17. JoAnne L. Flynn

Reviewed by Rapid Reviews Infectious Diseases

Activation of the P2RX7/IL-18 pathway in immune cells attenuates lung fibrosis

1. Serena Janho dit Hreich
2. Thierry Juhel
3. Sylvie Leroy
4. Alina Ghinet
5. Frederic Brau
6. Veronique Hofman
7. Paul Hofman
8. Valerie Vouret-Craviari

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  This study presents a potentially valuable discovery which indicates that activation of the P2RX7 pathway by the small molecule HEI3090 can reduce lung fibrosis after its establishment by inflammatory damage. If confirmed, the study could clarify the role of specific immune networks in the establishment and progression of lung fibrosis. The presented data and analyses showing the efficacy of HEI3090 small molecule acting via the P2RX7 pathway in reducing lung fibrosis are solid. The studies also show that genetic deletion of P2RX7 itself can reduce the extent of fibrosis. P2RX7 can thus have distinct effects in various phases of the development of lung fibrosis. There is a need for additional definitive studies that specifically identify the discrete phases of when inflammasome activation via P2RX7 signaling can worsen fibrosis versus when the same signaling can be beneficial. It also needs to be established whether distinct immune cell populations mediate the detrimental and beneficial effects of P2RX7 activation in lung fibrosis.

Reviewed by eLife

Dynamics of macrophage polarization support Salmonella persistence in a whole living organism

1. Jade Leiba
2. Tamara Sipka
3. Christina Begon-Pescia
4. Matteo Bernardello
5. Sofiane Tairi
6. Lionello Bossi
7. Anne-Alicia Gonzalez
8. Xavier Mialhe
9. Emilio J Gualda
10. Pablo Loza-Alvarez
11. Anne Blanc-Potard
12. Georges Lutfalla
13. Mai E Nguyen-Chi

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  This useful study introduces the development of Salmonella infection model in zebrafish embryos as an important model to study the interaction between macrophages and Salmonella during in vivo infection. Overall, the data presented are convincing and provide an inventory of genes mediating macrophage cell-cell adhesion and interactions that are useful for dissecting tissue macrophage responses and heterogeneity during intracellular bacterial infection. This is important to characterize the infection outcome and the dynamics of the immune response. The work will be of interest to microbiologists.

Reviewed by eLife

Disease-associated astrocyte epigenetic memory promotes CNS pathology

1. Hong-Gyun Lee
2. Joseph M. Rone
3. Zhaorong Li
4. Camilo Faust Akl
5. Seung Won Shin
6. Joon-Hyuk Lee
7. Lucas E. Flausino
8. Florian Pernin
9. Chun-Cheih Chao
10. Kilian L. Kleemann
11. Lena Srun
12. Tomer Illouz
13. Federico Giovannoni
14. Marc Charabati
15. Liliana M. Sanmarco
16. Jessica E. Kenison
17. Gavin Piester
18. Stephanie E. J. Zandee
19. Jack P. Antel
20. Veit Rothhammer
21. Michael A. Wheeler
22. Alexandre Prat
23. Iain C. Clark
24. Francisco J. Quintana

Reviewed by Arcadia Science

β-Carotene accelerates the resolution of atherosclerosis in mice

1. Ivan Pinos
2. Johana Coronel
3. Asma'a Albakri
4. Amparo Blanco
5. Patrick McQueen
6. Donald Molina
7. JaeYoung Sim
8. Edward A Fisher
9. Jaume Amengual

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  This study presents an important conceptual advance of how vitamin A and its derivatives contribute to atherosclerosis. There is solid evidence for the contributions of specialized populations of T cells in atherosclerosis resolution, including use of multiple in vivo models to validate the functional effects. A limitation is the insufficient analysis of lesions, but the manuscript has been improved from the original preprint version and the overarching conclusions have been refined.

Reviewed by eLife