Nature ImmunologyPub Date : 2026-04-23DOI: 10.1038/s41590-026-02508-4
{"title":"BLIMP1 tunes germinal center B cell responses to limit clonal dominance.","authors":"","doi":"10.1038/s41590-026-02508-4","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41590-026-02508-4","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":19032,"journal":{"name":"Nature Immunology","volume":"48 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":30.5,"publicationDate":"2026-04-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147735343","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Nature ImmunologyPub Date : 2026-04-23DOI: 10.1038/s41590-026-02488-5
Camilo Faust Akl, Francisco J. Quintana
{"title":"Astrocyte-driven immunosuppression in the brain tumor microenvironment","authors":"Camilo Faust Akl, Francisco J. Quintana","doi":"10.1038/s41590-026-02488-5","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41590-026-02488-5","url":null,"abstract":"Brain tumors are among the most lethal cancers, with limited success from emerging immunotherapies, largely due to the reshaping of the surrounding tumor microenvironment to promote tumor growth, invasion and immune evasion. Astrocytes are abundant glial cells of the central nervous system (CNS) that can activate distinct molecular programs to support glioblastoma and brain metastases. Although astrocytes are central regulators of the immune response in the CNS, their role in shaping tumor immunity remains relatively underexplored. Emerging evidence indicates that reactive astrocytes are important drivers of local immunosuppression, which constitutes a major barrier to the development of efficacious immunotherapies for brain tumors. In this Review, we examine astrocyte reprogramming by tumor-derived signals, its effect on tumor immunity, and emerging strategies to modulate astrocyte responses and immunotherapy outcomes. In this Review, the authors look at the function of astrocytes in immunotherapy and the immune response to glioblastoma and brain metastases.","PeriodicalId":19032,"journal":{"name":"Nature Immunology","volume":"27 5","pages":"912-922"},"PeriodicalIF":27.6,"publicationDate":"2026-04-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147735524","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Nature ImmunologyPub Date : 2026-04-21DOI: 10.1038/s41590-026-02490-x
Manasa Mellacheruvu, Kate Schroder
{"title":"ROS breaks the cofilin lock on NLRP3","authors":"Manasa Mellacheruvu, Kate Schroder","doi":"10.1038/s41590-026-02490-x","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41590-026-02490-x","url":null,"abstract":"How reactive oxygen species (ROS) contribute to NLRP3 inflammasome activity has been debated. Findings now show that cofilin-1 binds and inhibits NLRP3 activation — an interaction that ROS can disrupt to enable inflammasome assembly.","PeriodicalId":19032,"journal":{"name":"Nature Immunology","volume":"27 5","pages":"888-889"},"PeriodicalIF":27.6,"publicationDate":"2026-04-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147731437","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Nature ImmunologyPub Date : 2026-04-20DOI: 10.1038/s41590-026-02487-6
R. Gisli Jenkins
{"title":"Developing a vaccine strategy to prevent the progression of pulmonary fibrosis","authors":"R. Gisli Jenkins","doi":"10.1038/s41590-026-02487-6","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41590-026-02487-6","url":null,"abstract":"Pulmonary fibrosis is an incurable chronic, progressive disease characterized by the emergence of fibrosis-specific cells, including a subset of fibroblasts. Proof-of-concept experiments in mice now show that the immune system can be mobilized by vaccination to target these cells and limit the development of fibrosis.","PeriodicalId":19032,"journal":{"name":"Nature Immunology","volume":"27 5","pages":"890-891"},"PeriodicalIF":27.6,"publicationDate":"2026-04-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147726226","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Nature ImmunologyPub Date : 2026-04-20DOI: 10.1038/s41590-026-02495-6
Godhev Kumar Manakkat Vijay, Bala Ramaswami, Steven Gierlack, Nicholas A Pease, Peter Gerges, Dianyu Chen, Kairavee Thakkar, Luis Mena Hernandez, Swapnil Keshari, Heping Xu, Nathan Salomonis, Jishnu Das, David M Rothstein, Harinder Singh
{"title":"BLIMP1 shapes germinal center B cell clonal diversity by gating chromatin accessibility during light-to-dark zone transition.","authors":"Godhev Kumar Manakkat Vijay, Bala Ramaswami, Steven Gierlack, Nicholas A Pease, Peter Gerges, Dianyu Chen, Kairavee Thakkar, Luis Mena Hernandez, Swapnil Keshari, Heping Xu, Nathan Salomonis, Jishnu Das, David M Rothstein, Harinder Singh","doi":"10.1038/s41590-026-02495-6","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41590-026-02495-6","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Germinal center B cell responses are defined by many positive regulators of affinity maturation, but few components that restrain clonal dominance, notably Nr4a1, are known. We reveal an unsuspected role for BLIMP1 (Prdm1)-a plasma cell determinant-as a feedback regulator of affinity maturation. Single-cell RNA and B cell receptor (BCR) sequencing showed that B cell-specific Prdm1 loss drives an exaggerated germinal center reaction with larger clones, increased somatic hypermutation and greater clonal dominance, independent of Nr4a1. Single-cell chromatin profiling with base-resolution modeling indicated that Blimp-1 represses expression of BCR-signaling genes, gating chromatin accessibility at interferon-stimulated response elements, Ets-interferon regulatory factor composite elements, nuclear factor kappa B and Oct motifs. In the absence of BLIMP1, enhanced BCR-signaling augments activities of transcription factors that promote G1-S transition during light zone (LZ) selection and fuel dark zone (DZ) expansion. Thus, BLIMP1 attenuates BCR signaling and constrains the LZ to DZ transition, fine-tuning clonal competition, thereby maintaining repertoire diversity.</p>","PeriodicalId":19032,"journal":{"name":"Nature Immunology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":27.6,"publicationDate":"2026-04-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147729449","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Immunopeptidome profiling in pulmonary fibrosis provides a platform for identifying therapeutic targets","authors":"Ziyi Bai, Tianxia Lan, Weiqi Hong, Haiying Que, Min Zhu, Xin Xiao, Dandan Wan, Jiayuan Ai, Shaoxiong Huang, Jiayu Wang, Qiaonan Hong, Yanyan Liu, Chengxin Xiao, Chengjian Zhao, Xin Wang, Xiaolong Zhang, Ting Yang, Heng Xu, Lunzhi Dai, Charles A. Powell, Luca Richeldi, Fengming Luo, Haohao Dong, Yong Yuan, Qiang Pu, Xiawei Wei","doi":"10.1038/s41590-026-02501-x","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41590-026-02501-x","url":null,"abstract":"Fibrosis is a severe pathological outcome of many chronic diseases, yet the therapeutic potential of targeting the altered major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I immunopeptidome remains largely unexplored. Here we characterized the MHC class I immunopeptidomes from both fibrotic foci of human idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis lung explants and bleomycin-treated mice, identifying a diverse repertoire of fibrosis-associated peptides. Parallel profiling of bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis in mice enabled the computational prioritization of therapeutic targets. In vivo, therapeutic vaccination with three candidate peptides (MAF116–124, APBB270–78 and TNS3119–127) effectively mitigated fibrosis progression in bleomycin-treated mice. Furthermore, leveraging its evolutionary conservation, we found that MAF116–124 elicited specific human cytotoxic T lymphocytes that lysed human idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis-derived myofibroblasts and M2-like macrophages. This study indicates that immunopeptidome profiling provides a robust platform for discovering translatable antifibrotic immunotherapies. Wei and colleagues characterized the MHC class I immunopeptidome in mice and humans with lung fibrosis and identified immunogenic peptides specifically expressed in fibrosis-associated lung cell subsets that blocked the progression of fibrosis in mice treated with bleomycin.","PeriodicalId":19032,"journal":{"name":"Nature Immunology","volume":"27 5","pages":"923-936"},"PeriodicalIF":27.6,"publicationDate":"2026-04-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.nature.comhttps://www.nature.com/articles/s41590-026-02501-x.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147726248","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Tumor-derived branched-chain α-keto acids activate Notch signaling in tumor-associated macrophages to limit immunity.","authors":"Qi-Xiang Ma,Ru Zhao,Jiang-Xue Han,Wen-Ying Zhu,Mi-Die Xu,Xiao-Yan Zhang,Guo-Quan Yan,Wen-Yu Wen,Guang-Chun Han,Min Luo,Miao Yin,Jin-Tao Li,Qun-Ying Lei","doi":"10.1038/s41590-026-02484-9","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41590-026-02484-9","url":null,"abstract":"Tumor cells are highly dependent on branched-chain amino acids, which can activate mechanistic target of rapamycin complex 1, but the downstream catabolite branched-chain α-keto acids (BCKAs) are not well studied in this context. Here, using clinical samples and genetically engineered mouse tumor models, we showed that tumor-derived BCKAs are secreted actively into the tumor microenvironment (TME) where they reprogram tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) to promote tumor progression. Through genome-wide CRISPR screening, we identified Notch2 as a direct molecular target of BCKAs. BCKAs activate Notch signaling by binding to and stabilizing cleaved Notch2, functionally reprogramming TAMs and fostering an immunosuppressive TME. Mutation of the BCKA-binding site in Notch2 abolishes this effect in vivo. Together, these findings identify BCKAs as signaling metabolites that mediate tumor immunosuppression through direct sensing by Notch2.","PeriodicalId":19032,"journal":{"name":"Nature Immunology","volume":"23 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":30.5,"publicationDate":"2026-04-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147680673","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Nature ImmunologyPub Date : 2026-04-13DOI: 10.1038/s41590-026-02491-w
Masaki Tajima, He Hao, Baihao Zhang, Yuta Matsuoka, Kazuhiro Sonomura, Koshi Imami, Yosuke Isobe, Rae Maeda, Yu-Hsien Lin, Akihiro Shimba, Ryoma Kato, Pedro Henrique Costa Cruz, Sayaka Washizu, Yosuke Ikejiri, Akiyo Morinibu, Clive Steven Barker, Jun Seita, Yibo Wu, Satomi Ito, Seiko Narushima, Rei Nakano, Mikako Maruya, Wakana Kobayashi, Sai Shanmukha Priya Narayanan, Jumana Shaheen, Hiroyuki Neyama, Ken-ichi Yamada, Makoto Arita, Yuki Sugiura, Sidonia Fagarasan
{"title":"Purine salvage pathway protects CD8+ T cells from metabolic stress","authors":"Masaki Tajima, He Hao, Baihao Zhang, Yuta Matsuoka, Kazuhiro Sonomura, Koshi Imami, Yosuke Isobe, Rae Maeda, Yu-Hsien Lin, Akihiro Shimba, Ryoma Kato, Pedro Henrique Costa Cruz, Sayaka Washizu, Yosuke Ikejiri, Akiyo Morinibu, Clive Steven Barker, Jun Seita, Yibo Wu, Satomi Ito, Seiko Narushima, Rei Nakano, Mikako Maruya, Wakana Kobayashi, Sai Shanmukha Priya Narayanan, Jumana Shaheen, Hiroyuki Neyama, Ken-ichi Yamada, Makoto Arita, Yuki Sugiura, Sidonia Fagarasan","doi":"10.1038/s41590-026-02491-w","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41590-026-02491-w","url":null,"abstract":"Metabolic stress from a high-fat diet (HFD) impairs antitumor immunity through persistent metabolic rewiring, but its effects and long-term impact on CD8+ T cell metabolism remain unknown. Here, we found that even temporary exposure to a HFD impaired antitumor immunity 10 weeks after reversion to a normal diet. This was due to lasting metabolome changes that included enrichment in phospholipids sensitive to peroxidation and depletion of antioxidants, affecting the survival and function of CD8+ T cells. Under oxidative stress, CD8+ T cells utilized the xanthine salvage pathway to produce guanosine triphosphate, enhancing the amount of tetrahydrobiopterin. Xanthine supplementation reduced lipid peroxidation in tumor-draining lymph nodes and improved antitumor immunity in mice previously on a HFD. Our data indicate that metabolic stress in CD8+ T cells persists long after restoration of a balanced diet, and manifests as vulnerability to ferroptosis, which could be mitigated by replenishing biopterins through the xanthine salvage pathway. Tajima et al. show that a transient or continuous high-fat diet induces metabolic changes in CD8+ T cells that lead to increased vulnerability to ferroptosis and reduced antitumor responses.","PeriodicalId":19032,"journal":{"name":"Nature Immunology","volume":"27 5","pages":"1026-1038"},"PeriodicalIF":27.6,"publicationDate":"2026-04-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147666452","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Nature ImmunologyPub Date : 2026-04-13DOI: 10.1038/s41590-026-02494-7
Yoon-Chul Kye, Vijay K. Kuchroo
{"title":"The dual role of TOX in regulating TH1 and CD8+ T cell fate","authors":"Yoon-Chul Kye, Vijay K. Kuchroo","doi":"10.1038/s41590-026-02494-7","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41590-026-02494-7","url":null,"abstract":"Chronic antigen exposure drives TOX expression in CD8+ T cells and is associated with an exhausted hypofunctional T cell state. By contrast, data now show that the function of TOX in CD4+ T cells defines the TH1 lineage and supports the effector function of these cells.","PeriodicalId":19032,"journal":{"name":"Nature Immunology","volume":"27 5","pages":"886-887"},"PeriodicalIF":27.6,"publicationDate":"2026-04-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147666453","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}