Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy has been associated with acute neurotoxicity syndromes and with longer-term neurological symptoms. In Cell, Geraghty et al. identify the mechanism behind long-term cognitive symptoms after CAR T cell therapy. The authors used patient-derived xenograft mouse models of central nervous system (CNS) and non-CNS cancers, and an immunocompetent mouse model of

Patients with peritoneal metastasis can develop ascites, the collection of fluid in the abdomen. Although this has been linked to tumor growth, the mechanisms by which ascites suppresses anti-tumor immunity are unclear. In Science Immunology, Slattery et al. find that natural killer (NK) cells uptake lipids from ascites and this drives NK cell dysfunction, which may contribute to immune suppression

Glioblastoma (GBM) is an aggressive tumor with limited treatment options. In Nature, Faust Akl et al. show that both human and mouse GBM indirectly suppress adaptive immune antitumor responses by inducing TRAIL expression in astrocytes. TRAIL+ astrocytes trigger CD4+ and CD8+ T cell apoptosis by cognate interaction with DR4 and DR5 death receptors expressed on their cell surface. In the tumor microenvironment

Neuronal synaptic plasticity in the hippocampus is required for the formation of new neuronal connections during memory formation. In Immunity, Zengeler et al. report that inflammasome activation in hippocampus astrocytes regulates hippocampal plasticity, synaptic protein density, neuronal activity, extracellular matrix abundance and IL-33 production. ASC specks and cleaved caspase-1 and IL-18 — but

Secretory IgA coats the intestinal microbiota and is the most abundant antibody isotype produced in the mammalian gastrointestinal mucosa. In Cell Host and Microbe, Lisicka et al. show that IgA prevents chronic gut colonization by viruses and that IgA deficiency in some individuals increases susceptibility to colitis if exposed to viral pathobionts. The authors designed a mouse model of secretory IgA

The double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) sensor 2′,5′-oligoadenylate synthetase (OAS) produces the linear oligonucleotide 2-5A, which binds to and activates RNase L to cleave host and viral RNA and activate RIG-I-like receptors. In Immunity, Yan and colleagues show that 2-5A is transferred from cell to cell through gap junctions to mediate short-range communication between cells during infection and cancer

Skin damage can have systemic effects but whether it can result in the priming of immune responses that are spatially removed from the skin is less clear. Data now published in Science Immunology show that cytokines released from damaged skin can function as endocrine adjuvants to prime normally tolerogenic gastrointestinal immune responses to the model food antigen ovalbumin, thereby driving humoral

Women experience a higher prevalence of chronic pain, and pain hypersensitivity has been observed in female mice, but that mechanisms that drive sexual dimorphism in nociception remain unclear. In Science, Midavaine et al. find that meningeal regulatory T (mTreg) cells controlled the responses of female mice to mechanical pain via the endogenous opioid peptide enkephalin. Intrathecal injection of pegylated

Addendum to: Nature Immunology https://doi.org/10.1038/ni852, published online 4 November 2002.

Some viral infections cause diarrhea, but the contribution of the host response to the pathophysiology of diarrhea was unknown. In Cell Host and Microbe, Hou et al. use a model of inactivated rotavirus to show that diarrhea is driven by type III interferon (IFNλ). The authors infected neonatal mice with UV-inactivated rotavirus and found that it led to diarrhea. By infecting a panel of genetically

Tissues such as the skin, lungs and gut are constantly exposed to diverse microbial communities and must maintain tight barriers to prevent infection of underlying tissues. In Nature, Vicanolo et al. identify a unique subset of tissue-resident neutrophils found in barrier tissues that are capable of synthesizing extracellular matrix (ECM) components, such as collagen and fibronectin, that contribute

Stimulator of interferon genes (STING) is known for its nucleic acid-sensing type 1 interferon (IFN) responses to inflammatory pathologies such as viruses and cancer, but STING also possesses IFN-independent activities that are less well understood. To address this deficit, researchers generated a STING-reporter mouse (StingIRES-EGFP) to map STING expression in various tissues and during immune cell

Peroxisomes are cellular organelles involved in lipid metabolism and maintaining redox balance, but whether they are involved in the antiviral immune response to SARS-CoV-2 infection is not known. In Science, Wei et al. find that peroxisomes in alveolar macrophages (AMs) regulate lung inflammation after viral injury and may contribute to the development of post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC). In

The Immunological Genome Project Consortium (ImmGen) is announcing the launch of ImmGenMaps (https://www.immgen.org/ImmGenMaps), a project designed to spatially profile every immune cell across the mouse anatomy. This community project builds upon the bulk and single-cell profiling efforts of ImmGen to characterize the genetic regulation of all cells of the mouse immune system. Using state-of-the-art