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Lymphoid tissues in the upper respiratory tract contain immune cells that are crucial for local immunity. An analysis of adenoid tissue from individuals during and after SARS-CoV-2 infection is used to characterize tissue immune responses.

CD8⁺ T cell exhaustion is defined by a unique transcriptional and epigenetic profile that is important to understand for the generation of immunotherapies to treat cancer. Research now shows how this profile can be regulated by T cells switching their nutrient sources.

Clatworthy and colleagues examine adult nasal lymphoid tissues in response to SARS-CoV-2 infection. Longitudinal profiling reveals changes in barrier tissue to block viral entry beyond the epithelial cell layer and how tissue repair occurred after viral infection.

T_FH cells that express IL-13 are associated with high-affinity IgE responses, but factors controlling their development, transcriptional programming and exact function have remained unclear. Here, Chandrakar et al. find that the transcription factor JunB is required for T_FH13 cell maintenance and that T_FH13 cells producing IL-21 drive broad germinal center responses to allergen-specific IgG and IgE.

Here the authors identify a nuclear short form of IL-18 in cancer cells that can enhance NK cell activation to promote tumor elimination.

Cell-type-specific SARS-CoV-2-induced responses in nasal mucosa differ largely between ancestral, Delta and Omicron cases, including the association with severe disease and the cellular and immunological effects of prior vaccination.

Using a combination of single-cell RNA sequencing, T cell and B cell receptor sequencing, and mass cytometry analyses, we characterized the dynamics of peripheral immune cells across the human lifespan. Based on this resource, we present a single-cell immune aging clock to assess an individual’s immune status across different life stages.

In this Resource, authors profile peripheral immune cells from a total of 220 healthy volunteers from birth to over 90 years. This revealed that T cells were most affected by aging with divergent aging patterns in different subsets and identified a population of cytotoxic B cells that were enriched in children.

Here, the authors use a double-reporter system to tag IFNγ-producing versus IL-17A-producing γδ T cells to compile a trancriptomic resource of these cell subsets in mice at steady state and in response to cerebral malaria or multiple sclerosis.

We describe how newly emerging mutations in the SARS-CoV-2 variant BA.2.86 sub-variant JN.1 contribute to evasion of CD8⁺ T cell responses. Mutations occurring in T cell epitope hotspots in the viral spike protein and in a highly conserved site in the viral nucleocapsid suggest that T cell-mediated immune pressure is a key driving force for SARS-CoV-2 evolution and adaptation.

Liu and colleagues examine how severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 variants evade CD8⁺ T cell epitope recognition.

The authors show that SARS-CoV-2-specific T cells in the lung are key to fighting infection and persist after viral clearance, contributing to long-term immunity and protection.

Using a novel human tonsil immune organoid system, Chen et al. demonstrate that by controlling autoreactive humoral and cellular responses, human CD4⁺ regulatory T cells (T_reg cells) and CD8⁺ T_reg cells cooperatively restrain the otherwise uncontrolled autoimmune disease progression.

On 23–26 September 2024, the second ImmunOctoberfest conference took place in Raitenhaslach, Germany, and brought together scientists from all over the world to catch up on recent advances in ‘Bridging Innovation and Translation in T cell Immunotherapy’.

On 11–12 September 2024, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) convened experts to discuss associations between microorganisms and the development of autoimmune diseases.

To mature, dendritic cells collect and synthesize cholesterol to construct lipid nanodomains on their membranes. Obstructing this process impairs their ability to prime T cells.