Latest Publications

This review discusses how microbes that reside in the gut can have a far-reaching impact on the innate and adaptive immune systems. These microbes form a long-distance relationship with immune cells located at systemic sites and can help protect the host during infection.
In this study, the authors used flow cytometry, whole-mount imaging, microscopy, mass spectrometry, and transcriptomics to determine that eosinophils help facilitate mutualistic interactions between host and gut microbes, maintaining gut homeostasis.

The impact of the gut microbiota on T cell ontogeny in the thymus

Nanjundappa et al. Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences. Apr 2022.

This article reviews current knowledge and recent findings in gut-thymus axis research, and discusses current questions and challenges in this emerging field.
This article preview highlights a recent publication by Lam et al. (2021) that investigated how the microbiome regulates innate immunity to promote an anti-tumour response.
In this study, the authors characterized the microbiome of human palatine tonsil crypts in patients suffering from high risk-human papilloma virus-associated tonsil cancer, and compared the microbiome to that of a control group of adult sleep apnea patients. They found that the accumulation of certain bacterial genera in tonsil crypts was associated with tonsil cancer, while other genera were associated with sleep apnea.
In this study, the authors identified microbial D-lactate, as a modulator of an intravascular immune firewall that protects against the spread of bacterial infections via the bloodstream.
Using an interdisciplinary approach, the authors identified three bacterial species that significantly enhanced the efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors in four mouse models of cancer! This promising study "identifies a novel microbial metabolite-immune pathway that may be exploited to develop microbial-based adjuvant therapies."
This review summarizes the milestone findings in the field of microbiota-intestinal T helper cell crosstalk with a focus on the role of specific commensal bacteria and their metabolites. The authors discuss mechanistic mouse studies and are linking these to human studies where possible. They also highlight recent advances in the field of microbial CD4 T cell epitope mimicry in autoimmune diseases and the role of microbially-induced CD4 T cells in cancer immune checkpoint blockade therapy.
Here we report that mice colonized with a combination of bacterial species with specific characteristics is required to inhibit IgE levels... inhibition of IgE induction can be mediated by specific microbes and their associated metabolic pathways and immunogenic properties.

The microbiome and immune memory formation

McCoy, Burkhard, & Geuking. Immunology & Cell Biology. May 2019

The microbiota plays an important role in regulating both the innate and adaptive immune systems. This review highlight the role of the microbiota in the induction of immune memory with a focus on both adaptive and innate memory as well as vaccine efficacy.

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