{"title":"Editorial: recent advances in molecular genetics shine new light on immune disorders and infection.","authors":"Michaela U Gack, Thirumala-Devi Kanneganti","doi":"10.1093/hmg/ddaf105","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/hmg/ddaf105","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":13070,"journal":{"name":"Human molecular genetics","volume":"34 R1","pages":"R1-R2"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-10-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145238282","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The dynamic interactions between virus infections and nonsense-mediated decay.","authors":"Teun van der Klugt, Michiel van Gent","doi":"10.1093/hmg/ddae151","DOIUrl":"10.1093/hmg/ddae151","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Humans are continuously exposed to a wide array of viruses that cause a significant amount of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Over recent years, the evolutionarily conserved host RNA degradation pathway nonsense-mediated decay (NMD) has emerged as a broad antiviral defense mechanism that controls infection of a variety of RNA and DNA viruses. Besides regulating the abundance of host transcripts, NMD directly destabilizes virus genomic RNA, replication intermediates, and viral transcripts to interfere with replication. In turn, viruses have evolved strategies to modulate cellular NMD activity or repurpose NMD factors to facilitate their replication. In this review, we describe our current understanding of the role of NMD in controlling virus infections as well as the strategies employed by viruses to interfere with NMD.</p>","PeriodicalId":13070,"journal":{"name":"Human molecular genetics","volume":" ","pages":"R3-R10"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-10-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12501974/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143997980","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"An overview of host immune responses against Leishmania spp. infections.","authors":"Hanna Paton, Prabuddha Sarkar, Prajwal Gurung","doi":"10.1093/hmg/ddaf043","DOIUrl":"10.1093/hmg/ddaf043","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Leishmania spp. infections pose a significant global health challenge, affecting approximately 1 billion people across more than 88 endemic countries. This unicellular, obligate intracellular parasite causes a spectrum of diseases, ranging from localized cutaneous lesions to systemic visceral infections. Despite advancements in modern medicine and increased understanding of the parasite's etiology and associated diseases, treatment options remain limited to pentavalent antimonials, liposomal amphotericin B, and miltefosine. A deeper understanding of the interactions between immune and non-immune cells involved in the clearance of Leishmania spp. infections could uncover novel therapeutic strategies for this debilitating disease. This review highlights recent progress in elucidating how various cell types contribute to the regulation and resolution of Leishmania spp. infections.</p>","PeriodicalId":13070,"journal":{"name":"Human molecular genetics","volume":" ","pages":"R83-R109"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-10-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12501981/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143984473","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Recent insights into the role of innate immunity in lupus.","authors":"Lauren A Robinson, Virginia Pascual","doi":"10.1093/hmg/ddaf066","DOIUrl":"10.1093/hmg/ddaf066","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) is a complex autoimmune disorder characterized by loss of self-tolerance to nucleic acids, resulting in multisystem inflammation and organ damage. The genetic underpinning of SLE spans from common risk variants with modest effect sizes to rare monogenic mutations with high penetrance. Recent advances in next-generation sequencing and transcriptomic profiling have illuminated the central role of innate immune pathways in disease pathogenesis. This review synthesizes emerging evidence regarding innate immunity in SLE, with emphasis on toll-like receptor (TLR) signaling and regulatory mechanisms, NLRP3 inflammasome activation, myeloid cell dysregulation, and microbiome-immune interactions. Understanding these pathways provides a foundation for developing targeted therapeutics that may offer precision medicine approaches for this heterogeneous disease.</p>","PeriodicalId":13070,"journal":{"name":"Human molecular genetics","volume":" ","pages":"R35-R44"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-10-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12501970/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144233980","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Three decades of caspases and RIPKs in life and death.","authors":"R K Subbarao Malireddi, Thirumala-Devi Kanneganti","doi":"10.1093/hmg/ddaf106","DOIUrl":"10.1093/hmg/ddaf106","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Caspases and RIPKs are critical regulators of life and death. These molecules have roles in innate immunity and cell death that drive host defense, development, and tumor immunity, but their activation can also contribute to aberrant inflammation and inflammatory disease. This review revisits three decades of genetic studies that have elucidated the critical functions of caspases and RIPKs, synthesizing seminal findings in development, lytic cell death pathways, inflammation, disease pathology, and therapeutic innovation. These studies have led to the paradigm-shifting concept of PANoptosis, defined as an innate immune, inflammatory cell death pathway initiated by innate immune sensors and driven by caspases and RIPKs through PANoptosome complexes. PANoptosis can occur in response to pathogens, pathogen- and damage-associated molecular patterns, homeostatic alterations, cytokines, and the lytic cell death of surrounding cells. Caspase-8 has emerged as a critical core component of PANoptosomes, with other caspases and RIPKs also being key to the molecular activation of PANoptosis. Further genetic studies have established the significance of caspases and RIPKs, including their role in PANoptosis, across the disease spectrum, in infections, inflammatory conditions, cytokine storm, and cancer. Collectively, genetic and biochemical evidence suggests that targeting PANoptosome pathway molecules, including innate immune sensors, caspases, and RIPKs, provides a promising therapeutic strategy for a wide range of conditions, such as neurodegeneration, metabolic disorders, cancers, and chronic inflammatory or autoimmune diseases.</p>","PeriodicalId":13070,"journal":{"name":"Human molecular genetics","volume":" ","pages":"R121-R136"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-10-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12393794/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144707313","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Dual faces of itaconate and its derivatives: exploring diverse biological functions in immunity and infectious diseases.","authors":"Cecilie Poulsen, Dominic G Roy, David Olagnier","doi":"10.1093/hmg/ddae177","DOIUrl":"10.1093/hmg/ddae177","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The intersection of immunology and infectious diseases has been revolutionized by the emergence of immunometabolism, highlighting the critical role of metabolic processes in regulating immune responses. In recent years, itaconate alongside its derivatives dimethyl-itaconate (DMI) and 4-octyl-itaconate (4-OI), have received attention for their potent immunomodulatory and antimicrobial properties. This review examines the unique roles of itaconate and its derivatives in modulating immune functions and their implications in infectious diseases. We also explore their structural and functional discrepancies. Notably, while itaconate generally exhibits anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial effects, its derivatives may operate through distinct mechanisms, often exhibiting enhanced electrophilic properties. This review of recent research underscores the potential of itaconate and its derivatives as therapeutic agents, paving the way for future clinical applications in managing inflammation and infectious diseases.</p>","PeriodicalId":13070,"journal":{"name":"Human molecular genetics","volume":" ","pages":"R75-R82"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-10-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143709789","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Mouse models of type I interferonopathies.","authors":"Domnica Luca, Hiroki Kato","doi":"10.1093/hmg/ddae187","DOIUrl":"10.1093/hmg/ddae187","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Type I interferonopathies are severe monogenic diseases caused by mutations that result in chronically upregulated production of type I interferon. They present with a broad variety of symptoms, the mechanisms of which are being extensively studied. Mouse models of type I interferonopathies are an important resource for this purpose, and in this context, we review several key molecular and phenotypic findings that are advancing our understanding of the respective diseases. We focus on genotypes related to nucleic acid metabolism, sensing by cytosolic receptors and downstream signalling.</p>","PeriodicalId":13070,"journal":{"name":"Human molecular genetics","volume":" ","pages":"R45-R53"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-10-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12501977/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142835527","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Macrophages: sentinels, warriors, and healers.","authors":"Eduardo D Bernier, Eric Bartnicki, Kamal M Khanna","doi":"10.1093/hmg/ddaf087","DOIUrl":"10.1093/hmg/ddaf087","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Macrophages are versatile innate immune cells that act as sentinels, warriors, and healers in virtually every tissue. This review synthesizes current insights into their developmental origins and the organ-specific cues that imprint diverse tissue-resident and monocyte-derived programs. We detail how pattern-recognition pathways, metabolic and epigenetic rewiring, and environmental signals govern macrophage plasticity, steering transitions between pro-inflammatory and reparative phenotypes during homeostasis, infection, and sterile injury. Dysregulated macrophage responses drive chronic inflammatory, autoimmune, metabolic, neurodegenerative, and neoplastic diseases; inter-individual variability rooted in genetic polymorphisms and enhancer landscapes further modulates susceptibility. Advances in single-cell and spatial multi-omics are redefining macrophage subsets and exposing disease-associated states, while approaches such as checkpoint blockade, chimeric antigen receptor macrophages, nanoparticles, metabolic modulators, and pro-resolving mediators showcase the therapeutic promise of re-programming these cells. Remaining challenges include integrating the layered genetic, metabolic, and microenvironmental inputs that dictate macrophage fate. Addressing these gaps will unlock precision strategies that harness macrophage plasticity to combat infection, resolve inflammation, repair tissue, and augment anti-tumor immunity.</p>","PeriodicalId":13070,"journal":{"name":"Human molecular genetics","volume":" ","pages":"R110-R120"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-10-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144247661","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Spatiotemporal regulation of neutrophil heterogeneity in health and disease.","authors":"Jingu Lee, Bo-Ram Jin, Jaehyung Cho","doi":"10.1093/hmg/ddaf008","DOIUrl":"10.1093/hmg/ddaf008","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Neutrophils are the most abundant leukocytes in humans and are indispensable for innate immunity. They are short-lived, terminally differentiated cells. However, mounting evidence indicates that neutrophils are heterogeneous in health and disease: they are young or aged in a steady state, while their heterogeneity becomes more diverse in disease conditions, such as cancer, sepsis, and thromboinflammation. Although the presence of distinct neutrophil subsets is well recognized, it is not fully understood how neutrophils have functional and phenotypic heterogeneity and what mechanisms control it. This review will focus on our current understanding of the molecular basis for neutrophil heterogeneity in pathophysiological conditions. In addition, we will discuss the possibility of targeting a specific subset of neutrophils to attenuate inflammation and tissue damage without compromising innate immune responses.</p>","PeriodicalId":13070,"journal":{"name":"Human molecular genetics","volume":" ","pages":"R11-R22"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-10-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12501967/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144018399","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Bayram Toraman, İdris Er, Burak Kaan Kasap, Ümit Uzun, Tuba Dinçer, Gökhan Yıldız, Gülay Karagüzel, Saadettin Kayipmaz, Ersan Kalay
{"title":"A synonymous single nucleotide variant on the FAM20C gene causes non-lethal Raine syndrome.","authors":"Bayram Toraman, İdris Er, Burak Kaan Kasap, Ümit Uzun, Tuba Dinçer, Gökhan Yıldız, Gülay Karagüzel, Saadettin Kayipmaz, Ersan Kalay","doi":"10.1093/hmg/ddaf129","DOIUrl":"10.1093/hmg/ddaf129","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Raine syndrome (RNS) is an autosomal recessive neonatal osteosclerotic bone dysplasia that usually results in death in the postnatal period. Patients present with abnormal craniofacial features and widespread periosteal osteosclerosis affecting the ribs, skull, and long bones. Nonlethal forms of RNS have recently been reported. Biallelic mutations in the FAM20C gene, which encodes a Golgi serine/threonine protein kinase that phosphorylates secretory pathway proteins, are responsible for RNS. In this study, we examined a Turkish family consisting of three patients by exome sequencing and found that the homozygous c.1071A > G transition at the second-to-last position of the 5' end of exon 5 gave rise to a synonymous variant (p.P357P) in FAM20C. Subsequent mRNA (cDNA) sequencing of FAM20C showed that the c.1071A > G substitution disrupted the splice junction and directed the splicing to a new location in intron 5, resulting in an in-frame 12 amino acid insertion into the protein. FAM20C is a serine/threonine protein kinase that localizes to the Golgi apparatus by forming a homo- or hetero-dimer and/or is secreted from the cell to phosphorylate secretory proteins. Functional analysis showed that the identified insertion did not disrupt either homo- or hetero-dimerization of the FAM20C protein. However, this variant protein failed to localize properly to the Golgi apparatus and exhibited poor secretion from the cell. All these findings suggest that the identified variant causing the 12 amino acid insertion is responsible for the nonlethal form of RNS in the family and provides mechanistic insight into the molecular pathogenesis of RNS.</p>","PeriodicalId":13070,"journal":{"name":"Human molecular genetics","volume":" ","pages":"1693-1704"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-10-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144834950","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}