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Degeneration of the retinal pigment epithelium is a hallmark of geographic atrophy, a type of age-related macular degeneration. Kerur et al. show that this degeneration results from a multistep pathway in which mitochondrial dysfunction in RPE cells, triggered by accumulation of Alu RNA, leads to activation of the noncanonical inflammasome via a cGAS–STING–IRF3 signaling axis.
In the bone marrow, granulocyte-derived TNFα acts on endothelial cells to maintain the vasculature under steady-state conditions and to promote its regeneration after injury or transplantation.
Fry et al. report the first results from a human trial of a CD22-directed chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy providing evidence of efficacy in the treatment of pre–B cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia that is immunotherapy-naive or resistant to CD19-directed CAR T cells.
Genetic cell-lineage tracing studies in mice are crucial for delineating the contribution of stem and progenitor cells to different cell types, both in disease states and after regenerative therapy. He et al. have developed new genetic lineage-tracing systems that provide more definitive results than the commonly used Cre-based system and show that this new technology can resolve current controversies in the field, as demonstrated by lineage-tracing studies in the heart and liver.
Tumor organoids derived from the most common subtypes of primary liver cancer recapitulate the histologic and molecular features of the tissues of origin, even after long-term culture. These in vitro models, as well as those for colorectal cancer reported in Crespo et al. in a previous issue, are amenable for drug screening and allow the identification of therapeutic approaches with potential for cancer treatment.
Pule and colleagues identify the TCR β-chain constant region as a new target for chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells in treatment of T cell cancers while potentially preserving a healthy T cell repertoire. They demonstrate that anti-TCRB1 CAR T cells eliminate cancerous TCRB1+ T cells while sparing nearly one-third of normal TCRB2+ T cells.
Mowat, Scott and Bain discuss the functions of barrier-tissue macrophages in homeostasis and disease, and how these are shaped by their local environment.
Hosen et al. identify an active conformation of integrin beta-7 as a cancer-associated antigen in multiple myeloma, and engineer a CAR-T cell that shows efficacy against MM in a mouse model. These findings describe the first conformation-specific CAR-T cell and highlight the potential of conformational targets in cancer immunotherapy.
The massive cell death that occurs during myocardial infarction releases self-DNA and triggers an interferon response in infiltrating leukocytes via a cGAS–STING–IRF3 pathway. Interference with this response—either by genetic disruption of the pathway or antibody blockade of the type I interferon receptor—is beneficial in mice subjected to myocardial infarction.
A recent study finds that the N6-methyladenosine (m6A) modifier METTL3 regulates proliferation and differentiation in myeloid cells and acute myeloid leukemia (AML).
Genetic association studies of the human genome often omit the X chromosome because of the unique analytical challenges it presents. A concerted effort to undo this exclusion could offer medically relevant insights into basic biology that might otherwise be missed.