The Journal of Immunology

J Immunol. 2026 Aug 4;215(8):vkag208. doi: 10.1093/jimmun/vkag208. ABSTRACT People with HIV (PWH) exhibit persistent immune activation despite effective antiretroviral therapy, contributing to risk of non-AIDS-associated comorbidities such as cancer. Cell populations reflecting immune remodeling trajectories preceding malignancy are poorly characterized. Using peripheral blood mononuclear cells from an adult cohort (25-65 yr), we quantified the tetraspanin … Read more

J Immunol. 2026 Aug 4;215(8):vkag210. doi: 10.1093/jimmun/vkag210. ABSTRACT Class I MHC peptide (MHC-Ip) multimers are well-established reagents that detect antigen-specific T cells. The classical method for production of MHC-Ip multimers begins with the expression of MHC heavy chains (HCs) and β2-microglobulin (β2m) subunits as inclusion bodies in Escherichia coli and is followed by denaturant solubilization, … Read more

J Immunol. 2026 Jul 10;215(7):vkag186. doi: 10.1093/jimmun/vkag186. ABSTRACT Interleukin (IL)-22 mediates immune cell communication with nonhematopoietic cells and was shown to exert protective or destructive effects in different disease contexts. In the oral mucosal disease periodontitis, IL-22 has been associated with increased tissue destruction, although cause-and-effect evidence and the underlying mechanisms are lacking. Here, we … Read more

J Immunol. 2026 Jul 10;215(7):vkag195. doi: 10.1093/jimmun/vkag195. ABSTRACT Immune platelet transfusion refractoriness (iPTR) is a major complication in transfusion medicine. Although anti-HLA antibodies are recognized contributors, the mechanisms by which they drive platelet clearance remain incompletely defined. We examined sera from 18 patients with iPTR and found that anti-HLA antibodies induced uptake of human platelets … Read more

J Immunol. 2026 Jul 10;215(7):vkag154. doi: 10.1093/jimmun/vkag154. ABSTRACT The postnatal T‑cell pool comprises cells at diverse developmental stages, complicating efforts to resolve T‑cell differentiation, maturation, and long‑term adaptation. To address this challenge, we developed Rag1‑mediated time-stamp tracing, a genetic strategy that enables time‑resolved tracking of T‑cell developmental origins. We validate the specificity and temporal resolution … Read more

J Immunol. 2026 Jul 10;215(7):vkag172. doi: 10.1093/jimmun/vkag172. ABSTRACT The growing food allergy epidemic is thought to be related to changing environmental factors, particularly changes in the gut microbiome. While prior work has demonstrated that food allergy can be modulated by gut microbes, little is known about how food allergen-specific CD4+ T cells are affected by … Read more

J Immunol. 2026 Jul 10;215(7):vkag173. doi: 10.1093/jimmun/vkag173. ABSTRACT Anti-TNF and anti-IL-12/IL-23 are commonly used therapies for immune-mediated inflammatory diseases (IMIDs), including inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Although several studies have shown intact T cell responses following 2 to 3 doses of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) vaccines in biologics treated IMID patients, our group … Read more

J Immunol. 2026 Jul 10;215(7):vkag205. doi: 10.1093/jimmun/vkag205. ABSTRACT Our laboratory has previously described a mouse model (CD40LΔ5) that produces 60% of wild-type CD40L due to a targeted deletion in an RNA binding site within the CD40L message. The CD40LΔ5 mutation, which destabilizes CD40L mRNA during T-cell activation, causes disrupted germinal center (GC) formation, leading to … Read more

J Immunol. 2026 Jul 10;215(7):vkag202. doi: 10.1093/jimmun/vkag202. ABSTRACT Effector gene expression in CD8+ T cells is tightly controlled at the epigenetic and transcriptional levels; however, crucial regulatory signals remain incompletely understood. In this study, we identify dual specificity phosphatase 2 (DUSP2) as a key epigenetic modulator of effector CD8+ T-cell state, by elucidating inhibition of … Read more

J Immunol. 2026 Jul 10;215(7):vkag204. doi: 10.1093/jimmun/vkag204. ABSTRACT Natural killer (NK) cells are cytotoxic innate lymphoid cells that play a critical role in tumor surveillance by releasing proinflammatory cytokines and cytotoxic granules. NKp44 is an activating receptor that promotes NK cell secretion of TNF and IFN-γ upon engaging platelet-derived growth factor D (PDGF-DD), a ligand … Read more