Erratum to: "The Chemical Characterization of the Pneumococcal Transforming Principle. Pathogens and Immunity. 2024;8(2):177-178. doi: 10.20411/pai.v8i2.687".

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.20411/pai.v8i2.

B-1 B Cell-Derived Natural Antibodies against N-Acetyl-d-Glucosamine Suppress Autoimmune Diabetes Pathogenesis.

Environmental factors and host microbiota strongly influence type 1 diabetes (T1D) progression. We report that neonatal immunization with group A Streptococcus suppresses T1D development in NOD mice by promoting clonal expansion of N-acetyl-d-glucosamine (GlcNAc)-specific B-1 B cells that recognize pancreatic β cell-derived Ags bearing GlcNAc-containing posttranslational modifications. Early exposure to Lancefield group A cell-wall carbohydrate Ags increased production of GlcNAc-reactive serum Abs and enhanced localization of innate-like GlcNAc-specific B cells to pancreatic tissue during T1D pathogenesis.

Epitopes, paratopes, and other topes 30 years on: Understanding what we are talking about.

The question of which protein antigens, such as HLA class I or class II molecules, will bind, and how well, to a given antibody is often assumed to depend exclusively on the details of protein surface structure. These structures are usually based on static models resulting from X-ray crystallography. While these notions are useful, the ultimate causal factors determining how well a given antigen binds a given antibody are based in thermodynamics and can include atomic mobility and the time-varying conformations of proteins.

Pandemics and the English Language: Concepts Critical for Conversing About COVID-19.

We consider the multiple senses of several key terms that are used to discuss the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and clarify meanings of the corresponding concepts. Topics addressed include: 1) the meaning of immunity to an infectious agent in varying medical and scientific contexts, 2) the scientific factors that influenced the rapid generation and clinical implementation of safe and effective vaccines for COVID-19, 3) the difference between mutational abrogation of reactivity with B- or T-cell antigen receptors (immune escape) versus active interference with host immune mechanisms mediated by gene products encoded within the genome of the infectious agent (immune evasion), 4) the different ways by which the COVID-19 pandemic has "caused" deaths, and 5) briefly, the challenge of precisely defining the term .

Genes, Heritability, 'Race', and Intelligence: Misapprehensions and Implications.

The role of genetics in determining measured differences in mean IQ between putative racial groups has been a focus of intense discussion and disagreement for more than 50 years. While the last several decades of research have definitively demonstrated that genetic variation can influence measures of cognitive function, the inferences drawn by some participants in the controversy regarding the implications of these findings for racial differences in cognitive ability are highly dubious. Of equal importance, there is no compelling scientific rationale for focusing on and devoting substantial effort to determining mean differences in intelligence or other cognitive functions between groups with incompletely defined and dynamic (and therefore not definitively definable) boundaries.

A Disquisition on MHC Restriction and T Cell Recognition in Five Acts.

The seminal discovery in the early 1970s, credited to Peter Doherty and Rolf Zinkernagel, of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) restriction exhibited by cytotoxic T cells represented a major conceptual advance in understanding antigen recognition by conventional T cells. This advance also led to other major new insights into the ontogeny and immunobiology of T cells and catalyzed a renaissance in viral immunology. In this commentary in honor of Peter Doherty, I offer five brief reflections on different aspects of the phenomenon of MHC restriction and the process by which it was discovered and explained.

Relapse Following Allogeneic Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation for Acute Myeloid Leukemia Apparently Due to Somatic Cell Evolution via Epigenetic Variation and Immune Selection.

In this brief commentary, I discuss a recently published study that documents the role of immune escape in relapse of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) after hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT). Of particular interest, the mechanism identified by the authors for the ability of the malignant cells to evade destruction by host T cells is the loss of cell surface expression of HLA class II molecules based on processes other than mutation. The authors labeled this mechanism for altered cell surface display of HLA class II antigens "epigenetic.

Autism, evolution, and the inadequacy of 'spectrum'.

Lay Summary: Individuals diagnosed with autism display variation in many traits, such as interest and ability in social interaction or resistance to change. Referring to this variation as a 'spectrum', defined as a range of values along an axis, understates the extent of such variation and can foster incorrect inferences. In psychiatry, the currently accepted term for a developmental disability characterized by variably impaired social and communicative skills, repetitive behaviors, and restricted interests is "autism spectrum disorder.

Celebrating More Than a Century of Research on Antibodies: Affirmation Through Negation via Complex Formation.

In this brief commentary, I highlight the remarkable properties of antibodies (also known as immunoglobulins) revealed by more than 100 years of biomedical research. Since antibodies can be elicited through one or another means against almost any molecule or macromolecule, the universe of antibodies represents a sort of molecular mirror for the totality of molecules that make life possible. Consequently, as recounted below, antibodies play a role in almost every aspect of medicine and biomedical research.

"Infectious Supercarelessness" in Discussing Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria.

Many bacterial pathogens are exhibiting resistance to increasing numbers of antibiotics making it much more challenging to treat the infections caused by these microbes. In many reports in the media and perhaps even in discussions among physicians and biomedical scientists, these bacteria are frequently referred to as "bugs" with the prefix "super" appended. This terminology has a high potential to elicit unjustified inferences and fails to highlight the broader evolutionary context.

Polyanhydride Nanovaccines Induce Germinal Center B Cell Formation and Sustained Serum Antibody Responses.

Biodegradable polymeric nanoparticle-based subunit vaccines have shown promising characteristics by enhancing antigen presentation and inducing protective immune responses when compared with soluble protein. Specifically, polyanhydride nanoparticle-based vaccines (i.e.

Ig Constant Region Effects on Variable Region Structure and Function.

The adaptive humoral immune response is responsible for the generation of antimicrobial proteins known as immunoglobulin molecules or antibodies. Immunoglobulins provide a defense system against pathogenic microbes and toxins by targeting them for removal and/or destruction. Historically, antibodies have been thought to be composed of distinct structural domains known as the variable and constant regions that are responsible for antigen binding and mediating effector functions such as opsonization and complement activation, respectively.

Protein thermodynamics and the cognitive ecology of biomedicine.

Assessments of scientific contributions critically influence decisions about grant funding and academic promotion. Unfortunately, there is a tendency for more junior and less assertive individuals to receive less credit than deserved. Acknowledgement of the complexity of relationships among researchers and the different modes of contributing to scientific progress could improve this situation.