A preprint by Ellul et al. reports that maternal immune activation of mice imprints regulatory T cell dysfunction in offsping that drives autism-like behaviours.

A study describes how maternal immune activation can lead to neurodevelopmental deficits in offspring, through a mechanism involving granzyme B release by decidual natural killer cells.

Five recent papers identify the RORγt+ antigen-presenting cells that induce food-antigen-specific regulatory T cells and establish food tolerance.

A preprint by Cheng et al. identifies the proton-activated chloride channel PAC as a negative regulator of phagosomal acidification in macrophages.

Shruti Naik, an immunologist and a strong advocate for diversity in science, has joined forces with Aaron Mertz, who leads programmes that help to explain, connect and maximize the benefits of science for public good. In their World View article, they describe how we must rebuild the public's trust in scientists by engaging in public dialogue that makes science feel human, relevant and transparent

A preprint by Raposo et al. shows that immune checkpoint blockade drives the expansion of certain clones of exhausted T cells that can develop into functional memory cells after clearance of chronic viral infection.

In this Tools of the Trade article, Sina Djafari Rouhani and Mohammad Rashidian describe CD45-PET for whole-body imaging of immune activity and dynamics.

Two new studies describe populations of neurons in distinct brain regions that respond to IL-17 family cytokines and IL-10 to regulate social and anxiety-like behaviours.

Microglia are not confined to the central nervous system but are also present in the periphery, wrapped around large neuronal somas of humans and larger animals but not small animals like mice.

A preprint by Martins, Blankehaus et al. highlights an important role for monocyte-derived macrophages in iron homeostasis and its control of systemic energy metabolism.

A preprint by Buj et al. reports that Cdkn2alow tumour cells upregulate plasma membrane expression of the zinc importer SLC39A9, which deprives macrophages of zinc and impairs their phagocytic capacity, driving immunotherapy resistance.

A prospective observational study of human immune responses to vaccination after early-life antibiotic exposure shows that neonatal exposure reduces the immune response to several vaccine antigens and results in more rapid waning of protection.

Neutrophils not only kill invading microorganisms but also help to prevent their entry into tissues in the first place.

US spending in biomedicine has driven pre-eminence in academia, Nobel prizes, scientific training discovery, translation and healthcare. The associated USAID spend on global health programmes has worldwide impacts, including on the ongoing HIV eradication timeline. Current policy changes place this continued trajectory into doubt, with ramifications for international research collaborations, global

A study shows that transient blockade of type I interferon signalling during T cell priming enhances the generation of stem cell-like memory CD8+ T cells after viral infection and mRNA vaccination.

Nelson et al. report that lung-resident IgG1+ memory B cells class-switch to IgE to mediate airway hypersensitivity in asthma.

In this Tools of the Trade article, Sofia Bustamante Eguiguren (from the Dushek and van der Merwe labs) describes CombiCells, which can be customized to express any combination and concentration of ligands to study receptor–ligands interactions.

A preprint by Liu et al. shows that resident tissue macrophages in the conventional outflow tract regulate intraocular pressure in the steady state.

A preprint by Dolci et al. reports that tumour-associated macrophages secrete SPP1 to drive neurite outgrowth, promoting tumour innervation and spinal cord repair.

A preprint by Farias et al. shows that the type I interferon response to respiratory syncytial virus infection reduces lung metastasis of breast cancer in a mouse model.

Drugs like aspirin can enhance the anti-metastatic activity of T cells by blocking a platelet-mediated pathway of suppression.

In this Tools of the Trade article, Takamasa Kudo (in the Aviv Regev lab, in collaboration with Eric Lubeck) describes how PerturbView enables robust visualization of many thousands of genetic perturbations.

A preprint by Laubreton et al. suggests a role for agonist selection and cytokine-driven bystander activation in the differentiation and recruitment of memory-phenotype Ly49+CD8+ T cells.

A preprint by Eislmayr et al. shows that macrophages rather than neutrophils are a key factor in controlling Shigella infection.

In this Tools of the Trade article, Sarah Al Abdullatif describes a method to measure — in a physiological context — mechanical forces transmitted between a T cell receptor and its ligand.

Chronic antigen exposure underlies the stepwise acquisition of a terminally dysfunctional state by CD8+ T cells, commonly known as exhaustion, which is considered a major cause of failed cancer immunosurveillance. Recent data from models of viral infection show that the precursors of terminally exhausted T cells emerge early during disease course, prior to continuous signalling through the T cell receptor

A preprint by Mroz et al. reports a role for IFNgamma in protecting against seizures after traumatic brain injury.

Hsu et al. report in Cell that the release of complement-inhibiting vesicles by neutrophils as they age is a self-resolving, anti-inflammatory mechanism that supports a return to homeostasis.

A study in Science Immunology shows that meningeal regulatory T (Treg) cells limit the activation, proliferation and parenchymal infiltration of T cells and NK cells, indicating that Treg cells act as gatekeepers of the brain.

Immune cells can exchange membrane-bound molecules via horizontal protein transfer, a poorly understood process termed trogocytosis. Barbera et al. now show that chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-engineered T cells can transfer their CARs to T cells and other cells by trogocytosis in vivo. CARs on recipient T cells seemed to be functional, as isolated recipient cells were able to kill target cells. Trogocytosis

Cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) in tumours are often dysfunctional. Bréart et al. investigated the association between cytokines and CTLs in human tumours and found a correlation between IL27 expression and CTL infiltration. In syngeneic mouse models, treatment with an IL-27-encoding plasmid or half-life-enhanced IL-27, with or without anti-PD-L1, improved tumour rejection without overt toxicity. Single-cell

The arrival of the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 in late 2021 marked a major shift during the COVID-19 pandemic, as the virus acquired dozens of mutations in its spike protein compared with earlier variants. Now, an epidemiological study in Nature shows that it also led to a shift in the protective effect of natural infection against reinfection: pre-Omicron, infection provided stable and durable protection

Loss of a conserved cis-regulatory element at HDAC9 increases NLRP3 inflammasome activation and may explain why HDAC9 is a major risk locus for cardiovascular disease.

To evade elimination by T cells, tumour cells transfer mutant mitochondria to T cells, which reprogrammes their metabolism and compromises their antitumour activity.

A preprint by Makris et al. shows that podoplanin is a key regulator of the functions of fibroblastic reticular cells in lymph nodes, by modulating interactions with immune cells.

A study in Science reports that intestinal innate lymphoid cells migrate to the pancreas in response to low blood glucose levels to promote glucagon production.

In this Tools of the Trade article, Yishay Pinto describes a tool, called Phanta, that profiles phages alongside their bacterial hosts in microbiome analysis.