Sorted B cell transcriptomes point towards actively regulated B cell responses during ongoing chronic hepatitis B infections.

The natural course of chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infections follows distinct clinical disease phases, characterized by fluctuating levels of serum HBV DNA and ALT. The immune cells and their features that govern these clinical disease transitions remain unknown. In the current study, we performed RNA sequencing on purified B cells from blood (n = 42) and liver (n = 10) of healthy controls and chronic HBV patients.

Shared DNA methylation signatures in childhood allergy: The MeDALL study.

Background: Differential DNA methylation associated with allergy might provide novel insights into the shared or unique etiology of asthma, rhinitis, and eczema.

Objective: We sought to identify DNA methylation profiles associated with childhood allergy.

Methods: Within the European Mechanisms of the Development of Allergy (MeDALL) consortium, we performed an epigenome-wide association study of whole blood DNA methylation by using a cross-sectional design.

Transcriptional heterogeneity between primary adult grey and white matter astrocytes underlie differences in modulation of in vitro myelination.

Background: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an inflammation-mediated demyelinating disease of the central nervous system that eventually results in secondary axonal degeneration due to remyelination failure. Successful remyelination is orchestrated by astrocytes (ASTRs) and requires sequential activation, recruitment, and maturation of oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs). In both MS and experimental models, remyelination is more robust in grey matter (GM) than white matter (WM), which is likely related to local differences between GM and WM lesions.

Transcriptome analysis suggests a compensatory role of the cofactors coenzyme A and NAD in medium-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase knockout mice.

During fasting, mitochondrial fatty-acid β-oxidation (mFAO) is essential for the generation of glucose by the liver. Children with a loss-of-function deficiency in the mFAO enzyme medium-chain acyl-Coenzyme A dehydrogenase (MCAD) are at serious risk of life-threatening low blood glucose levels during fasting in combination with intercurrent disease. However, a subset of these children remains asymptomatic throughout life.

A Transcriptionally Distinct CXCL13CD103CD8 T-cell Population Is Associated with B-cell Recruitment and Neoantigen Load in Human Cancer.

The chemokine CXCL13 mediates recruitment of B cells to tumors and is essential for the formation of tertiary lymphoid structures (TLSs). TLSs are thought to support antitumor immunity and are associated with improved prognosis. However, it remains unknown whether TLSs are formed in response to the general inflammatory character of the tumor microenvironment, or rather, are induced by (neo)antigen-specific adaptive immunity.