Iannacone Lab

What can I say... my watercolor made it to the cover of the latest issue of @natimmunol.nature.com, together with our paper on IL-27 in chronic hep B 🚀 We really put the cherry on top in the @iannaconelab.bsky.social @cristianbeccaria.bsky.social. 🥹💜 Check it out! www.nature.com/ni/volumes/2...

Venzin and Beccaria et al. demonstrate that pre-activated CD4+ T cells actively license local hepatic APCs and restore antiviral CD8+ T cell function. bit.ly/4kRAbhS  ‪@valentinavenzin.bsky.social‬  @cristianbeccaria.bsky.social‬  ‪@iannaconelab.bsky.social‬

Members of the Iannacone Lab

Drs. @valentinavenzin.bsky.social, @cristianbeccaria.bsky.social, and the @iannaconelab.bsky.social identified the molecular and cellular mechanisms by which CD4⁺ #Tcells can restore antiviral CD8⁺ T cell function in the #liver.

@natimmunol.nature.com: go.nature.com/3Ggjajr
🎧: bit.ly/3GP9NaK

Ep. 109: "Phagocyte Cell Biology" Featuring Dr. Johnathan Canton - The Immunology Podcast Dr. Johnathan Canton is an Assistant Professor at the University of Calgary, where his lab uses advanced microscopy techniques to study dendritic cells, macrophages, and innate immunity. He talks abou...

Thank you @brendaraud.bsky.social and @drsifujg.bsky.social for highlighting our recent @natimmunol.nature.com (25:40) www.immunologypodcast.com/ep-109-phago...

A liver-centric help circuit revives CD8+ T cells via IL-27 - Nature Immunology Effector CD4⁺ T cells restore antiviral CD8⁺ T cell function in the liver by licensing Kupffer cells via CD40–CD40L interactions. This triggers IL-27 production and reprograms the hepatic immune envir...

If you’re too busy to read the paper, here’s the Research Briefing in Nature Immunology 🌈 a quick dive into how CD4⁺ T cells and IL-27 revive CD8⁺ T cells right in the liver! @natimmunol.nature.com @iannaconelab.bsky.social www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Targeting HBV with RNA interference: Paths to cure RNA-targeting therapies hold promise for contributing to HBV cure regimens, but challenges remain before that promise can be realized.

Happy to share our latest review "Targeting HBV with RNA interference: Paths to cure"| Science Translational Medicine www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... written together with @cristianbeccaria.bsky.social, Lena Allweiss, Julie Lucifora, John Tavis, Adam Gehring and Maura Dandri

Grazie!

Thanks for sharing!

Thank you Laura!

Thanks Ivan 😊

@immunologypodcast.com @microbetv.bsky.social @erc.europa.eu @embopress.org @embo.org @unisr.bsky.social

11/ Kudos to @valentinavenzin.bsky.social‬, @cristianbeccaria.bsky.social, all members of the @iannaconelab.bsky.social&collaborators for charting this intrahepatic circuit. Expect Kupffer cell licensing and IL 27 to enter conversations on cancer immunotherapy, vaccines and beyond. Thoughts welcome!

10/ The work reframes “CD4 help”: not a lymph node pep talk but an on site renovation that overrides local tolerance. Therapeutics that mimic KC licensing could deliver potency where it’s needed and spare the rest of the body. (10/11)

9/ Why care beyond HBV? Tapping a CD4–IL 27 axis could be a universal key to re arming liver resident CD8⁺ T cells against infections and cancer (9/11)

8/ IL 27 isn’t just necessary—it’s sufficient. Recombinant IL 27 revived antiviral CD8⁺ activity in mice and super charged HBV specific T cells from patients. (8/11)

7/ Remove KCs and the circuit collapses; block CD40L or IL 27 and CD8⁺ T cells relapse into lethargy. The essential loop is:
CD4 T cell ➜ KC ➜ IL 27 ➜ CD8 T cell. (7/11)

6/ Dendritic cells? Dispensable. Secondary lymphoid organs? Surgically removed or pharmacologically blocked—help still flows. Immunity can be fabricated in situ right inside the parenchyma. (6/11)

5/ Licensed KCs release a two part cocktail:
• IL 12 expands the helper pool
• IL 27 wakes up dysfunctional CD8⁺ T cells, restoring effector molecules and metabolic vigor. (5/11)

4/ Through CD40L CD40 contact, those helpers re program KCs—turning tolerant scavengers into potent APC like cytokine factories. It’s on site immune engineering, not remote coaching. (4/11)

3/ Pre activated helper CD4⁺ T cells solve the puzzle. They skip lymph nodes and head straight to the liver, where they form intimate triads with Kupffer cells (KCs), the resident macrophages patrolling sinusoids. (3/11)

2/ Chronic HBV infection was the perfect stress test: intrahepatic CD8⁺ T cells are primed yet quickly stall. How to reignite them has been a major interest of our lab. (2/11)

1/ 🚨 Hot off the press in Nature Immunology: CD4⁺ T cells can license Kupffer cells to rescue dysfunctional CD8⁺ T cells in the liver. Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is just the proving ground—this is a paradigm shift in tissue immunity. www.nature.com/articles/s41... 🧵(1/11)

This cover highlights the article T-cell-derived IFN-γ suppresses T follicular helper cell differentiation and antibody responses by Eleonora Sala, Maria Nelli, Matteo Iannacone, Mirela Kuka and colleagues. The cover image depicts a section of a murine popliteal lymph node captured by confocal microscopy. T-cells and dendritic cells are depicted in blue and green, respectively, and colocalize in the paracortex. Subcapsular sinus macrophages are stained in red and define the subcapsular area. Scientific image by the authors

Issue 9:
Nautilus-like HflK/C assembly controls FtsH proteolysis
Viral miRNA double-agent for infecting both animals & plants
S-palmitoylation modulates ATG2-dependent lipid transport during autophagy
and more!
Cover by Mirela Kuka, @iannaconelab.bsky.social et al
www.embopress.org/toc/14602075...

"Like a seasoned explorer visiting different regions around the globe, immune cells travel within and between various niches, quickly adapting to local microenvironments."
@iannaconelab.bsky.social et al @embojournal.org
#Immunology
www.embopress.org/doi/full/10....

Guidelines and Advances in Basic and Applied Dendritic Cell Biology: European Journal of Immunology Click on the title to browse this issue

📣Don't miss out EJI’s comprehensive collection on DCs, featuring Guidelines, cutting-edge research, reviews and more. Explore the full collection bit.ly/4cWkWSP, edited by Björn Clausen and Diana Dudziak
@efis-immunology.bsky.social @dgfi-org.bsky.social @dgfi-yi.bsky.social

T-cell-derived IFN-γ suppresses T follicular helper cell differentiation and antibody responses
www.embopress.org/doi/full/10....
@iannaconelab.bsky.social

T-cell-derived IFN-γ suppresses T follicular helper cell differentiation and antibody responses
Mirela Kuka, @iannaconelab.bsky.social and colleagues
www.embopress.org/doi/full/10....

T-cell-derived IFN-γ suppresses T follicular helper cell differentiation and antibody responses | The EMBO Journal imageimageSubcutaneous infection by lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) is characterized by skewed CD4+ T-cell polarization, as well as severely impaired differentiation of T follicular helper (...

📖Dive deeper into our research and its implications for antiviral defense and vaccines. We look forward to your thoughts and questions!
Full paper here: www.embopress.org/doi/full/10....
#SanRaffaele @unisr.bsky.social @erc.europa.eu #AIRC @embo.org #ArmeniseHarvard
(11/11) 💬📚

👏Huge congratulations to Mirela Kuka, Eleonora Sala, Maria Nelli and all contributors who co-led the study! (9/10)

💡Mechanistic Insights: By tuning IFN-γ signals, we can reprogram local lymph nodes and “unlock” TFH potential. This points toward new avenues to combine T cell and B cell–focused therapies for more effective vaccines. (8/10)