Immune Regulation News Volume 10.17 | May 11 2018

TOP STORY

Proteomic Analyses of Human Regulatory T Cells Reveal Adaptations in Signaling Pathways that Protect Cellular Identity

To obtain a molecular definition of Treg cell identity, scientists performed proteomics and transcriptomics on various populations of human regulatory and conventional CD4⁺ T cells. [Immunity] Abstract | Graphical Abstract

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CD36 Mediates Cell-Surface Antigens to Promote Thymic Development of the Regulatory T Cell Receptor Repertoire and Allo-Tolerance

Researchers report that antigen was primarily transferred from medullary thymic epithelial cells to CD8α⁺ dendritic cells (DCs) and showed that CD36, a scavenger receptor selectively expressed on CD8α⁺ DCs, mediated the transfer of cell-surface, but not cytoplasmic, antigens. [Immunity] Abstract | Graphical Abstract

ATF4 Regulates CD4⁺ T Cell Immune Responses through Metabolic Reprogramming

Investigators showed that oxidizing environments and amino acid starvation induce ATF4 in CD4⁺ T cells. They also demonstrated that Atf4-deficient CD4⁺ T cells have defects in redox homeostasis, proliferation, differentiation, and cytokine production. [Cell Rep] Full Article | Graphical Abstract

Immune Quiescence in the Oral Mucosa Is Maintained by a Uniquely Large Population of Highly Activated Foxp3⁺ Regulatory T Cells

Researchers showed that the oral mucosa is highly enriched in Foxp3⁺ Treg cells, and that oral mucosa Treg cells are phenotypically distinct from those of LN or spleen, as they expressed copious amounts of the tissue-retention molecule CD103 and unusually high-levels of CTLA4. [Mucosal Immunol] Abstract

VIPER Regulates Naive T Cell Activation and Effector Responses: Implication in TLR4 Associated Acute Stage T Cell Responses

The authors investigated the endogenous functional expression of TLR4 in naive mice T cells during TCR and mitogenic stimulation in presence of VIPER peptide, an established inhibitor of TLR4 signaling. [Sci Rep] Full Article

Mycobacterium tuberculosis PPE60 Antigen Drives Th1/Th17 Responses via Toll-Like Receptor 2–Dependent Maturation of Dendritic Cells

Researchers determined how the cell wall-associated antigen PPE60 activates dendritic cell maturation and T-cell differentiation. [J Biol Chem] Abstract | Full Article

Foxp3 Expression in Induced T Regulatory Cells Derived from Human Umbilical Cord Blood vs. Adult Peripheral Blood

Scientists examined Foxp3 expression and regulation comparing induced Treg (iTreg) differentiated from umbilical cord blood (UCB) vs. adult blood (AB) naive CD4⁺ T-cells. Foxp3 expression was higher in UCB vs. AB-derived iTreg, and was sustained during 21-day expansion in vitro. [Bone Marrow Transplant] Abstract

The Role of Type I Interferons (IFNs) in the Regulation of Chicken Macrophage Inflammatory Response to Bacterial Challenge

Investigators demonstrated that IFNα and IFNβ act differently in terms of gene expression stimulation and activation of intracellular signaling pathways in chicken macrophages. [Dev Comp Immunol] Abstract

GIMAP6 Is Required for T Cell Maintenance and Efficient Autophagy in Mice

In mice bred to carry the CD2Cre transgene such that the Gimap6 gene was deleted within the T and B cell lineages there was a 50-70% reduction in peripheral CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ T cells. [PLoS One] Full Article

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Metabolism as a Target for Modulation in Autoimmune Diseases

The authors review the pathways that control reactive oxygen species production and mTOR activation and identify targets for safe therapeutic modulation of the signaling network that underlies autoimmune diseases, focusing on systemic lupus erythematosus. [Trends Immunol] Abstract

Visit our reviews page to see a complete list of reviews in the immune regulation research field.

Protagen AG Collaborates with UCSF to Study Better Immuno-Profiling of Cancer Patients Receiving Immunotherapy

Protagen AG announced the start of a collaboration with the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) to utilize Protagen’s SeroTag^® technology to investigate the immuno-profiling of prostate cancer patients treated with checkpoint inhibitors and therapeutic vaccines. [Protagen AG (Business Wire, Inc.)] Press Release

Polaris Signs Collaboration Agreement with MD Anderson Cancer Center to Join Its Immunotherapy Platform for Clinical Trials and Preclinical Research

Polaris Group announced that it has signed a multiyear strategic Collaboration Agreement with MD Anderson Cancer Center to utilize its Immunotherapy Platform, led by world-renowned immunotherapy pioneer Dr. James Allison, Dr. Padmanee Sharma, and Dr. Patrick Hwu, to design clinical studies and monitor biomarkers in immune functions associated with the therapies. [Polaris Pharmaceuticals] Press Release

Nektar Therapeutics Announces Initiation of a Phase Ib Clinical Study of NKTR-358, a First-in-Class Regulatory T Cell Stimulator, in Patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

Nektar Therapeutics announced that it has commenced dosing patients with systemic lupus erythematosus in a Phase Ib clinical study evaluating NKTR-358, a first-in-class regulatory T cell stimulator. [Nektar Therapeutics] Press Release

FDA Seeks Permanent Injunctions against Two Stem Cell Clinics

The FDA, in two complaints filed in federal court, is seeking permanent injunctions to stop two stem cell clinics from marketing stem cell products without FDA approval and for significant deviations from current good manufacturing practice requirements. [U.S. Food and Drug Administration] Press Release

Hungarian Scientists Are on Edge As Country Is Poised to Force Out Top University

In early April, several days after Viktor Orbán secured his third consecutive term—and fourth overall—as Hungarian prime minister with a landslide victory for his conservative party, the pro-government paper Figyelő; published a list of more than 200 people it called “mercenaries” of George Soros, the American-Hungarian billionaire philanthropist. The list included investigative journalists and human rights advocates—and 30 academics from the Soros-founded, Budapest-based Central European University. [ScienceInsider] Editorial

Release of Three Americans by North Korea Bolsters Hopes for Academic Diplomacy

The release of three Americans by North Korea is being welcomed in the United States. Leaders of the Pyongyang University of Science and Technology in North Korea also see the move as good news, and are hoping it might ultimately lead to the end of a travel ban that has prevented its U.S. instructors from teaching classes. [ScienceInsider] Editorial

NEW 2018 National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) Cancer Conference
November 4-6, 2018
Glasgow, United Kingdom

Visit our events page to see a complete list of events in the community.

NEW Postdoctoral Fellow – Innate Immune Signaling (Houston Methodist Research Institute)

Research Technologist – Cell Separation (STEMCELL Technologies Inc.)

Computational Scientist – Immune System (Karolinska Institutet)

Immunologist – Project Research (The Francis Crick Institute)

Postdoctoral Fellow/Research Associate – Immune Modulatory Therapies (Houston Methodist Hospital)

Postdoctoral Position – Cancer, Immunotherapy, and Fibrosis (University of Alabama at Birmingham)

Research Scientist – Biomarker Development (Kymab)

Postdoctoral Fellow – Immune Suppression Mechanisms in Myeloid Cells (AstraZeneca)

Postdoctoral Position – Cancer, Immunotherapy, and Fibrosis (University of Alabama at Birmingham)

Postdoctoral Fellow – Immunology and iPSCs (Stanford University)

Postdoctoral Associate Position – Tumor Immunology/Immunotherapy (Duke Cancer Institute)

Assistant, Associate, or Full Member – Cancer Immunology (Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center)

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