See also: Original Article by Dankers et al.

The Ki67 protein is proposed to have two conformations; one which segregates chromosomes before anaphase, and the other which results in chromosome condensation after cell division to exclude large cytosolic components from the reforming nuclei of daughter cells.

We investigated the role of pulmonary macrophages in asthma airway remodeling. Our work demonstrates that M2 polarization of pulmonary macrophages, which is modulated by miR-142-5p and miR-130a-3p, is a key process in asthma airway remodeling.

In this study, we applied RNA-sequencing technology to investigate the time-resolved gene expression profiles of microRNAs (miRNAs) and messenger RNAs (mRNAs) in human lung alveolar epithelial cells in response to Streptococcus pneumoniae up to 8 h postinfection. Through a range of bioinformatics and function-related analyses, we found several functional clusters and key regulators associated with inflammatory and immune responses. Finally, we built a regulatory network among differentially expressed miRNAs and differentially expressed target mRNAs to investigate the potential biological function or relevance during infection of miRNA–mRNA interactions.

Taking into account all of our results, we now have a broader vision of the role of platelets (PLTs) in the context of Brucella abortus–mediated infection. PLTs can directly interact with both monocytes and polymorphonuclear cells, establishing complexes. These interactions promote the differentiation of these cell types into potent proinflammatory profiles with enhanced microbicidal capacity, contributing to the resolution of the infection.

This study reveals that different fibrinogen-related proteins (FREP) have diverse and combinatorial specificity during altered pathophysiological conditions. Among them, a hemocyte-specific protein (FREP13) shows an antibacterial response in hemocytes and promotes gut endosymbionts after blood-feeding in the midgut.

Mucosal-associated invariant T (MAIT) cells can recognize and respond to a wide range of microbial infection. The MAIT T-cell receptor is known to be increasingly diverse and bind a wide range of microbial ligands. We show that the MAIT T-cell receptor beta chain can discriminate between microbial infection and ligand.

We have shown that macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) is released by monocytes/macrophages when they die, by necrosis, necroptosis and pyroptosis. This could have implications for MIF in autoimmune and inflammatory diseases, in which cell death or defective clearance of apoptotic cells (or both) are critical triggers of pathology.

See also: News and Commentary by Hoffmann & Bernhagen