@KingOfPathogens

Co-authors when you ask them to go over a draft in August

Giardia helps the immune system pick its battles Nature Immunology - Giardia intestinalis is a protozoan parasite that can cause severe enteric disease. The immune response to this organism provides unexpected benefits to limit gut inflammation.

For those with an interest in enteric infections (or if you have had Beaver Fever): this commentary summarizes recent studies on the potential benefits of Giardia. Public offering of shares in ParasitesAreUs to come.... rdcu.be/ew8nk

mRNA vaccines make an elephant-sized advance New immunization shows success against a deadly herpesvirus threatening young, endangered elephants

Messenger RNA vaccines aren’t just saving human lives—they are protecting elephants as well. Juvenile elephants Sanjay and Kabir at the Cincinnati Zoo received the first messenger RNA vaccine designed to protect elephants from a deadly virus. cen.acs.org/pharmaceutic... 🧪

Trump team axes contracts with publishing giant Springer Nature The action comes as high-ranking US officials criticize top journals as ‘woke’ and ‘corrupt’.

Trump team axes contracts with publishing giant Springer Nature

At first, NIH told me its contracts with SN were active and that they help “advance scientific discovery”.

Hours later, HHS said the opposite: "Precious taxpayer dollars should not be used on unused subscriptions to junk science.”

Improving T-cell responses to vaccines ft. @emilyaunins.bsky.social (@cambupenn.bsky.social), @kingofpathogens.bsky.social, A. Phan (@PennVet), S. Domchek (@PennCancer), @drewweissmanlab.bsky.social (Penn Med) @MgAlameh (@PennPathLabMed) & @scottehensley.bsky.social (@PennMicro) tinyurl.com/2p8xztbz

CLNS1A regulates genome stability and cell cycle progression to control CD4 T cell function and autoimmunity CLNS1A promotes autoimmunity through epigenetic and transcriptional regulation of DNA repair and cell cycle progression in CD4 T cells.

Out now in #Science #Immunology: using a forward genetic of #ion #channels & #transporters, @stefanfeske.bsky.social & colleagues identified chloride nucleotide-sensitive channel 1A (CLNS1A) to be a critical regulator of #CD4 #TCell proliferation & differentiation!

PSGL-1 is a phagocytosis checkpoint that enables tumor escape from macrophage clearance PSGL-1 acts as a phagocytosis checkpoint to promote tumor immune escape through impeding LFA-1 activation in macrophages.

New in #Science #Immunology: Researchers at Sun Yat-Sen University in Guangzhou report that #BloodCancers expressing PSGL-1 can prevent the #integrin signaling #macrophages need for #phagocytosis. Targeting PSGL-1 improved survival in mouse models of #leukemia, #lymphoma, & #MultipleMyeloma!

Researchers crack the code of body’s ancient immune defense | Penn Today A collaborative team from Penn Medicine and Penn Engineering have  unraveled the mathematics of a 500-million-year-old protein network that “decides” which foreign materials are friend or foe.

penntoday.upenn.edu/news/researc...

De-coupling immune parameters and toxicity associated with IL-12 agonism Lanzar et al. use a combination of half-life extension and IL-12 variants to explore the toxic effects of IL-12 treatment. These datasets highlight the cellular pool of innate and adaptive lymphocytes...

Accompanied by another approach to mitigating IL-12 toxicity www.cell.com/cell-reports...

Last week was big for IL-12 engineering @cytokinesociety.bsky.social : Membrane-IL12 adjuvant mRNA vaccine polarizes pre-effector T cells for optimized tumor control url:https://rupress.org/jem/article-abstract/222/9/e20241454/278038/Membrane-IL12-adjuvant-mRNA-vaccine-polarizes-pre

De-coupling immune parameters and toxicity associated with IL-12 agonism Lanzar et al. use a combination of half-life extension and IL-12 variants to explore the toxic effects of IL-12 treatment. These datasets highlight the cellular pool of innate and adaptive lymphocytes...

Ha - big week for IL-12... De-coupling immune parameters and toxicity associated with IL-12 agonism: Cell Reports www.cell.com/cell-reports...

De-coupling immune parameters and toxicity associated with IL-12 agonism @cp-cellreports.bsky.social @kingofpathogens.bsky.social
www.cell.com/cell-reports...

SP140–RESIST pathway regulates interferon mRNA stability and antiviral immunity - Nature The antiviral protein SP140 negatively regulates Ifnb1 mRNA stability by directly repressing the expression of the immune regulator RESIST.

#WeekendRead! #BeyondPatternRecognitionReceptor! Witt, Russel Vance &co show @nature.com that SP140 at the same time inhibits DNA viruses but also represses RESIST destabilizing interferon-b RNA, linking antiviral effector triggered immunity to multiple sclerosis & B cell tumors!

a man in a kilt is dancing on the ground ALT: a man in a kilt is dancing on the ground

I think you will find that it’s not England

Exclusive: Kennedy picks for vaccine advisory board were paid experts against Merck in civil cases Two of HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s new appointees to the CDC’s vaccine advisory board have previously served as paid expert witnesses for plaintiffs suing drugmaker Merck over its HPV and MM...

"Two of HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s new appointees to the CDC’s vaccine advisory board have previously served as paid expert witnesses for plaintiffs suing Merck over its HPV and MMR shots." endpoints.news/two-new-acip...

Bluesky Microbial Path community - this ones for you. Time to break out those high risk high reward projects..... Its just a one pager to get going.

www.bwfund.org/funding-oppo...

IFN-γ–resistant CD28 CAR T cells demonstrate increased survival, efficacy, and durability in multiple murine tumor models IFN-γ–resistant CD28 CAR T cells exhibit potent antitumor activity because of reduced cell death, increased expansion, and long-term memory formation.

IFN-γ–resistant CD28 CAR T cells demonstrate increased survival, efficacy, and durability in multiple murine tumor models | Science Translational Medicine @cytokinesociety.bsky.social www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

It sort of depends on your affinity for them

You should probably select one

Canadian Excellence Research Chair (CERC) in Human Immunology Please refer to the How to Apply for a Job (for External Candidates) job aid for instructions on how to apply. If you are an active McGill employee (ie: currently in an active contract or position at ...

Are you an established PI that studies the human immune system and looking for a change of location? If the answer is yes, #McGill has an amazing opportunity to provide long-term funding at a world class institution. Apply now!!!! Please repost!!! mcgill.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/McGill...

NIH staff and biomedical community sound alarm about agency politicization, funding slowdown In test of NIH director’s support of dissent, NIH staff sign Bethesda Declaration urging reversal of grant cuts and freezes

NIH staff and biomedical community sound alarm about agency politicization, funding slowdown | Science | AAAS www.science.org/content/arti...

The Adjuvant Effect of Interleukin-12 in a Vaccine Against Leishmania major Protection induced by vaccination depends on the capacity of the vaccine to elicit an appropriate immune response. In leishmaniasis, protection requires leishmanial-specific CD4+ T helper (TH) cells. ...

And let's go back to this beauty from 1994 that sets the stage.
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

mRNAs encoding self-DNA reactive cGAS enhance the immunogenicity of lipid nanoparticle vaccines | mBio Nucleic acid-based vaccines hold promise in preventing infections and treating cancer. The most common use of this technology is to encode antigenic proteins on mRNAs that are delivered to cells via l...

@jkagan1.bsky.social got imaginative with the mRNA encoding an innate sensor - just one one the many ways this platform can be used to "hack" the innate immune system to influence adaptive responses.
journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...

Dowling and colleagues use the mRNA platform to look at how IL-12 impacts long term humoral responses and a clever IL-12 variant to restrict tissue expression. www.science.org/toc/stm/16/757

Congrats to @emilyaunins.bsky.social, Anthony, MG and
‪@drewweissmanlab.bsky.social‬ and support from NIH and colleagues at Penn @davidchristian.bsky.social @scottehensley.bsky.social
Here are a few more papers related to the topic that illustrate how the field is moving

An Il12 mRNA-LNP adjuvant enhances mRNA vaccine–induced CD8 T cell responses IL-12 is dispensable for CD8 T cell responses to mRNA vaccination, but an Il12 mRNA-LNP enhances CD8 T cell memory and protection.

We're not the first to use IL-12 as an adjuvant - but having worked on IL-12 for >30 years this was still a surprise at how much this study taught us about mRNA vaccines and their utility. Here are two others below:
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
@cytokinesociety.bsky.social

🌟 Calling all women leaders in immunology!

The EJI Ita Askonas Prize 2025 offers €20,000 + ECI 2027 travel to outstanding female group leaders who have run an independent lab.

Apply or nominate a colleague via BSI by 20 June! Find out how to apply: https://bit.ly/4kzbwzu

We set out to quantify U.S. academic contributions to medicines. The results stunned even us From 2020 to 2024, universities contributed patents underpinning 50% of FDA-approved drugs. 87% of those academic breakthroughs came from American institutions.

The astounding contribution of US academic science to new medicines

www.statnews.com/2025/06/06/u...

Sorry man - feel better. Maybe get a small bell to call for familial support when needed.

Inflammatory mischief managed: How retinoic acid calms heart attacks at the (marrow) source Targeting vitamin A metabolism limits emergency hematopoiesis and promotes resolution of inflammation in myocardial infarction.

Inflammatory mischief managed: How retinoic acid calms heart attacks at the (marrow) source | Science Immunology www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...