J Immunol. 2026 Aug 29;215(9):vkag238. doi: 10.1093/jimmun/vkag238. ABSTRACT Many autoimmune diseases exhibit a female sex bias in prevalence and severity, yet the mechanisms for this remain unclear. 17β-estradiol (E2) is a steroid sex hormone with established immunomodulatory roles in CD4+ T cells, which express the nuclear estrogen receptors ERα and ERβ. Autoimmune disease patients exhibit … Read more
J Immunol. 2026 Aug 29;215(9):vkag224. doi: 10.1093/jimmun/vkag224. ABSTRACT Hepatic ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury triggers release of small extracellular vesicles (sEVs) that can function as systemic conveyors of inflammatory signals. While sEV-mediated immune cell modulation has been studied extensively in vitro, knowledge is based largely on sEVs derived from cultured cells, rather than injured tissues. Consequently, the … Read more
J Immunol. 2026 Aug 29;215(9):vkag178. doi: 10.1093/jimmun/vkag178. ABSTRACT Neutrophils have been implicated in mediating immune crosstalk between injured tissue and distal organs, either promoting local and distal inflammation or mediating tissue repair. Skin injury from ultraviolet (UV) light triggers neutrophil migration to the kidney, which may have implications for nephritis flares in systemic lupus erythematosus. … Read more
J Immunol. 2026 Aug 29;215(9):vkag237. doi: 10.1093/jimmun/vkag237. ABSTRACT Through screening of a VHH phage display library constructed from an alpaca immunized with the recombinantly expressed murine myelin oligodendrocyte (MOG)-specific 2D2 T cell receptor (TCR), we identified nanobodies that reduced antigen-driven 2D2 T cell activation in vitro. Immunoblotting and staining confirmed TCRβ chain reactivity and Vβ11-associated … Read more
J Immunol. 2026 Aug 4;215(8):vkag199. doi: 10.1093/jimmun/vkag199. ABSTRACT Invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cells are unconventional ɑβ T cells that respond to lipid-based antigens. They play a vital role in response to infections and are involved in diseases such as allergic asthma and cancer. Despite clear immunological roles across multiple diseases, remarkably few tools exist … Read more
J Immunol. 2026 Aug 4;215(8):vkag235. doi: 10.1093/jimmun/vkag235. ABSTRACT SARS-CoV-2 has continued to evolve over time, necessitating the adaptation of vaccines to maintain efficacy. Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against SARS-CoV-2 were a key line of defense for unvaccinated or immunocompromised individuals. However, these mAbs are now ineffective against current SARS-CoV-2 variants. Here, we tested 3 aspects of … Read more
J Immunol. 2026 Aug 4;215(8):vkag201. doi: 10.1093/jimmun/vkag201. ABSTRACT The invariant chain (Ii) trimerizes in the endoplasmic reticulum and swiftly associates with nascent alpha and beta chains of major histocompatibility complex class II (MHCII) molecules. Ii was ascribed many roles pertaining to the antigen presentation capacity of MHCII molecules. The lack of Ii in knockout mice … Read more
J Immunol. 2026 Aug 4;215(8):vkag223. doi: 10.1093/jimmun/vkag223. ABSTRACT Neuropathic pain (NP) is a refractory clinical disorder in which microglial pyroptosis plays a crucial role, yet the epigenetic regulation by lysine demethylase 4A (KDM4A) remains unclear. In this study, chronic constriction injury (CCI) rat models were established, and KDM4A was knocked down to evaluate its effects … Read more
J Immunol. 2026 Aug 4;215(8):vkag214. doi: 10.1093/jimmun/vkag214. ABSTRACT The human T cell receptor (TCR) repertoire is generated in the thymus through a process of recombination involving two gene loci, TRA and TRB, and the pairing of the resulting peptide chains. Because of the lack of allelic exclusion in TRA loci, it is possible for a … Read more
J Immunol. 2026 Aug 4;215(8):vkag213. doi: 10.1093/jimmun/vkag213. ABSTRACT The complex and sophisticated sea urchin innate immune system relies on conserved immune receptor and effector molecules plus the euechinoid-specific Transformer family. Native SpTransformer (natSpTrf) proteins in Strongylocentrotus purpuratus respond to immune challenge by augmenting phagocytosis of microbes. These proteins show significant sequence diversity both within and … Read more
