Simultaneous CRISPR screening and spatial transcriptomics reveal intracellular, intercellular, and functional transcriptional circuits.

Pooled optical screens have enabled the study of cellular interactions, morphology, or dynamics at massive scale, but they have not yet leveraged the power of highly plexed single-cell resolved transcriptomic readouts to inform molecular pathways. Here, we present a combination of imaging spatial transcriptomics with parallel optical detection of in situ amplified guide RNAs (Perturb-FISH). Perturb-FISH recovers intracellular effects that are consistent with single-cell RNA-sequencing-based readouts of perturbation effects (Perturb-seq) in a screen of lipopolysaccharide response in cultured monocytes, and it uncovers intercellular and density-dependent regulation of the innate immune response.

Parts and ICRAFTs: Finding new immunotherapy targets.

CRISPR screens are widely utilized to identify genes that regulate immune function or mediate sensitivity of cancer cells to immune attack. In this issue of Immunity, Zeng et al. present a computational framework for uncovering gene targets with dual function in both cancer and immune cells and nominate TNFAIP3 as a synergistic target whose ablation strongly elicits an antitumor response.

Microplastics in agricultural soils following sewage sludge applications: Evidence from a 25-year study.

Sewage sludges applied to agricultural soils are sources of microplastic pollution, however, little is known about the accumulation, persistence, or degradation of these microplastics over time. This is the first study to provide long-term, high temporal resolution quantitative evidence of microplastics in agricultural soils following sewage sludge application. The abundance and degradation of microplastics was assessed in soils sampled biennially from an experimental field over a 25-year period managed under an improved grassland regime following the application of five different sewage sludges.

Enantiomeric fraction evaluation for assessing septic tanks as a pathway for chiral pharmaceuticals entering rivers.

Septic tanks (STs) are an important pathway for chiral pharmaceuticals entering rivers. Therefore, the enantiospecific compositions of 25 chiral human pharmaceuticals and metabolites were investigated in five community STs over 12 months in Scotland. Large variability in pharmaceutical concentrations and enantiomeric fractions (EFs) were observed in wastewater owing to the small contributing populations.

Associations and Diagnostic Accuracy of Ultrasound Features in Knee Osteoarthritis: Cross-sectional Results from a Large Community-based Cohort.

Objectives: To determine 1) associations among ultrasound (US) features of knee osteoarthritis (KOA), radiographic KOA (rKOA), and patient-reported symptoms, and 2) diagnostic accuracy of US definitions for rKOA, in a community-based cohort.

Methods: Participants enrolled in the Johnston County Health Study (JoCoHS, 2019-24, n=902) provided demographics, comorbidities, clinical features and symptoms, along with imaging with standardized acquisition and scoring protocols. Logistic regression models provided odds ratios adjusted for age, sex, race, ethnicity, body mass index (BMI), education level, comorbidities, and knee injury for associations among US features and KOA outcomes.