The Journal of Immunology

J Immunol. 2026 Oct 1;215(10):vkag261. doi: 10.1093/jimmun/vkag261. ABSTRACT Cytotoxic CD8⁺ T lymphocytes eliminate pathogen-infected and malignant cells through migration to affected tissues, cytokine production, and cytotoxic activity. A mounting body of evidence indicates that CD8 T cell differentiation into functionally different subsets, such as effector, memory, tissue-resident memory, and exhausted T cells, is controlled by … Read more

J Immunol. 2026 Oct 1;215(10):vkag265. doi: 10.1093/jimmun/vkag265. ABSTRACT Chlamydia trachomatis is the leading bacterial sexually transmitted pathogen worldwide and a major cause of reproductive tract disease, highlighting the need for an effective vaccine. Defining the immune mechanisms underlying vaccine-induced protection is therefore critical. We previously demonstrated that in mice vaccinated with CTH522/CAF01, genital tract Th17 … Read more

J Immunol. 2026 Aug 29;215(9):vkag232. doi: 10.1093/jimmun/vkag232. ABSTRACT Vaccines comprising peptide antigens for inducing T cell immunity are being developed for a broad range of therapeutic applications including prevention and treatment of cancer, autoimmunity, and infectious diseases. However, many peptide antigens contain cysteine and/or methionine, which are prone to form oxidation products that can present … Read more

J Immunol. 2026 Aug 29;215(9):vkag253. doi: 10.1093/jimmun/vkag253. ABSTRACT The histone-like protein Hup is a highly conserved DNA-stabilizing and compacting protein found across bacterial families. We previously demonstrated that the Hup protein of Staphylococcus and Streptococcus species harbors a shared CD4+ T cell epitope, and that Hup77-88-specific CD4+ T cells confer cross-species protection against pulmonary infection … Read more

J Immunol. 2026 Aug 29;215(9):vkag260. doi: 10.1093/jimmun/vkag260. ABSTRACT T helper 17 (Th17) cell differentiation is governed by a complex transcriptional network centered on the lineage-specifying factor RORγt, accompanied by STAT3, IRF4, and SMAD2/3. However, the complete repertoire of transcriptional regulators controlling Il17a gene transcription and Th17 commitment remains incompletely defined. Here, we identify zinc finger … Read more

J Immunol. 2026 Aug 29;215(9):vkag240. doi: 10.1093/jimmun/vkag240. ABSTRACT This study aimed to investigate the mechanism by which the sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitor dapagliflozin improves immune imbalance in sepsis with diabetes, focusing on its regulation of macrophage M2 polarization through the APOC1/HMGB1/TLR4 axis. A mouse model of type 2 diabetes was established through intraperitoneal injection of … Read more

J Immunol. 2026 Aug 29;215(9):vkag252. doi: 10.1093/jimmun/vkag252. ABSTRACT Current glycoconjugate vaccines often fail to induce durable B cell memory or to provide sufficiently high-affinity antibodies limiting their utility for prophylactic protection against most bacterial and fungal pathogens. We address this limitation by engineering a chemically functionalized protein nanoparticle vaccine capable of eliciting protective nanomolar affinity … Read more

J Immunol. 2026 Aug 29;215(9):vkag259. doi: 10.1093/jimmun/vkag259. ABSTRACT Humans produce 12 distinct interferon alpha (IFN-α) subtypes that were previously thought to be functionally redundant. Recent studies have revealed that IFN-α subtypes differ in their ability to control different viral infections. However, little is known about how IFN-α subtypes differentially modulate immune cells to mediate these … Read more

J Immunol. 2026 Aug 29;215(9):vkag251. doi: 10.1093/jimmun/vkag251. ABSTRACT Inflammatory responses require precise posttranscriptional control of gene expression, yet the contribution of circular RNAs (circRNAs) to this process remains poorly understood. Here, we performed circRNA sequencing in murine macrophages stimulated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and identified dynamic and stimulus-dependent changes in circRNA expression. Among 1,298 high-confidence circRNAs, … Read more

J Immunol. 2026 Aug 29;215(9):vkag256. doi: 10.1093/jimmun/vkag256. ABSTRACT The expression, localization, and secretion of certain chromatin proteins are tightly regulated in response to inflammatory challenges or tissue damage. High mobility group (HMG) nucleosome-binding proteins can translocate out of the nucleus to act as alarmins in immune cell communications. The consequences of nuclear depletion of HMGs … Read more