The Journal of Immunology

J Immunol. 2026 Oct 1;215(10):vkag234. doi: 10.1093/jimmun/vkag234. ABSTRACT Immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICPI) therapy, targeting Programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) and its ligands PD-L1 and PD-L2, have revolutionized cancer care. However, ICPI is linked to immune-related adverse events, including nephropathy manifesting as acute kidney injury (AKI), a rapid decline in kidney function, often progressing to … Read more

J Immunol. 2026 Oct 1;215(10):vkag255. doi: 10.1093/jimmun/vkag255. ABSTRACT Macrophages function as professional antigen-presenting cells that integrate inflammatory signals with metabolic reprogramming to shape immune responses. Itaconate, an immunometabolite derived from ACOD1/IRG1 activity in activated macrophages, has been implicated in the regulation of inflammatory responses, yet its role in interferon γ (IFN-γ)-driven antigen presentation programs remains … Read more

J Immunol. 2026 Oct 1;215(10):vkag264. doi: 10.1093/jimmun/vkag264. ABSTRACT T follicular helper (Tfh) cells provide help to B cells for antibody class switching and affinity maturation and are critical for germinal center (GC) formation. The frequency of Tfh cells has proven to be a valuable marker for predicting durable neutralizing antibody responses; conversely, the expansion of … Read more

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