Two Pathways to Viral Recognition

Structure of MHC class I displaying a SARS-CoV-2 peptide to a T cell receptor

T cells are a major component of the adaptive immune system. The video shows the intracellular events that let T cells learn about and recognize virus-infected cells. Infected cells can use the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) I or MHC II pathway to signal to T cells that they are infected. Both pathways rely on the … Read more

Signal or Nutrient: Breast Milk Lipids in Macrophages

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A recent article identified a role for alkylglycerol (AKG)-type ether lipids in human breast milk in the regulation of the development of fat tissue in nursing babies (Figure 1). Intriguingly, the lipids affected tissue-resident macrophages in the fat tissue, adipose tissue macrophages (ATMs), not the adipose cells themselves. Using mice, Yu and colleagaues showed that … Read more

Antibiotic Treatment Reshapes the Vaginal Microbiome

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The microbes that live in the vagina constitute to the vaginal microbiome (or microbiota). New research from the lab of Jacques Ravel at the University of Maryland shows that Chlamydia infection is associated with a different composition of the vaginal microbiome compared with the microbiome of healthy patients. Additionally, the vaginal microbiome of the patients … Read more

Worth a Closer Look: May 2019

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A list of papers published in May 2019 that piqued my interest