Trends in Immunology

Trends Immunol. 2026 Jul 31:S1471-4906(26)00181-X. doi: 10.1016/j.it.2026.07.002. Online ahead of print. ABSTRACT CD8+ T cell exhaustion is increasingly recognized as a regulated adaptation to chronic antigenic stimulation rather than a simple immune failure. Indeed, recent studies reveal that exhaustion is imprinted early after T cell activation, integrating transcriptional and epigenetic cues to balance effector function … Read more

Trends Immunol. 2026 Jul 30:S1471-4906(26)00182-1. doi: 10.1016/j.it.2026.07.003. Online ahead of print. ABSTRACT Homing pigeons’ navigation in darkness relies on Earth’s magnetic field. However, the underlying mechanism of magnetoreception remains poorly understood. Recently, Lisowski et al. demonstrated that superparamagnetic hepatic macrophages are potential magnetoreceptors that detect and transmit geomagnetic information to support the navigation of pigeons. … Read more

Trends Immunol. 2026 Jul 29:S1471-4906(26)00180-8. doi: 10.1016/j.it.2026.07.001. Online ahead of print. NO ABSTRACT PMID:42527288 | DOI:10.1016/j.it.2026.07.001

Trends Immunol. 2026 Jul 15:S1471-4906(26)00164-X. doi: 10.1016/j.it.2026.06.008. Online ahead of print. ABSTRACT More than 4 decades after the discovery of MHC restriction, it is clear that the phagocytosis of dying cells is not the only route by which macrophages acquire antigens. Fan and colleagues further expand this paradigm by showing that macrophages can sample a … Read more

Trends Immunol. 2026 Jul 16:S1471-4906(26)00165-1. doi: 10.1016/j.it.2026.06.009. Online ahead of print. ABSTRACT Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains one of the most lethal malignancies, characterized by a highly complex and dynamic tumor microenvironment in which tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) are particularly abundant. TAMs regulate tumor initiation, progression, metastasis, and therapy response, making them attractive targets. However, targeting TAMs … Read more

Trends Immunol. 2026 Jul 14:S1471-4906(26)00163-8. doi: 10.1016/j.it.2026.06.007. Online ahead of print. ABSTRACT Macrophages are central regulators of immunity, tissue homeostasis, and repair, whose plasticity enables them to integrate cues from their local microenvironment. Dysregulated macrophages contribute to chronic inflammation, fibrosis, impaired wound healing, and tumor progression. Biomaterials enable the modulation of macrophages through localized delivery … Read more

Trends Immunol. 2026 Jul 8:S1471-4906(26)00161-4. doi: 10.1016/j.it.2026.06.005. Online ahead of print. ABSTRACT CD8+ T cell dysfunction, characterized by impaired effector function, proliferative capacity, and sustained inhibitory receptor expression, limits immune control in both cancer and chronic viral infections. Despite arising from distinct disease processes, these conditions induce a shared state of CD8+ T cell dysfunction, … Read more

Trends Immunol. 2026 Jul 2:S1471-4906(26)00162-6. doi: 10.1016/j.it.2026.06.006. Online ahead of print. ABSTRACT Interleukin-33 (IL-33) is classically viewed as an alarmin, but in cancer, it may do more than merely initiate immunity. I propose that IL-33 scripts the trajectory of immunity through interconnected regulatory layers that influence how host responses are organized and ultimately resolved into … Read more

Trends Immunol. 2026 Jun 25:S1471-4906(26)00137-7. doi: 10.1016/j.it.2026.05.012. Online ahead of print. ABSTRACT Mitochondrial calcium (mtCa2+) has long been framed as a bioenergetic regulator, yet evidence redefines it as a relevant immunometabolic switch. Within the tumor microenvironment, the mitochondrial calcium uniporter (MCU) complex and the NCLX-TMEM65 efflux axis maintain a ‘Goldilocks zone’ of Ca2+ homeostasis. This … Read more

Trends Immunol. 2026 Jun 24:S1471-4906(26)00155-9. doi: 10.1016/j.it.2026.06.003. Online ahead of print. ABSTRACT Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) selectively deliver potent chemotherapeutic agents to tumor cells. In clinical settings, the therapeutic benefits of ADCs can be improved when combined with immune checkpoint inhibitors, probably due to the immunogenic nature of ADC-induced tumor cell death, which releases tumor antigens … Read more