The mammalian immune system implements a remarkably effective set of mechanisms for fighting pathogens 1 . Its main components are hematopoietic immune cells, including myeloid cells that control innate immunity and lymphoid cells that constitute adaptive immunity 2 . However, immune functions are not unique to hematopoietic cells, and many other cell types display basic mechanisms of pathogen defence 3 – 5 . To advance our understanding of immunology outside the haematopoietic system, here we systematically investigate the regulation of immune genes in the three major types of structural cells: epithelium, endothelium, and fibroblasts. We characterize these cell types across twelve organs in mice, using cellular phenotyping, transcriptome sequencing, chromatin-accessibility profiling, and epigenome mapping. This comprehensive dataset revealed complex immune gene activity and regulation in structural cells. The observed patterns were highly organ-specific and seem to modulate the extensive interactions between structural cells and haematopoietic immune cells. Moreover, we identified an epigenetically encoded immune potential in structural cells under tissue homeostasis, which was triggered in response to systemic viral infection. This study highlights the prevalence and organ-specific complexity of immune gene activity in non-haematopoietic structural cells, and it provides a high-resolution, multi-omics atlas of the epigenetic and transcriptional networks that regulate structural cells in the mouse.

Superspreading events shaped the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, and their rapid identification and containment are essential for disease control. Here we provide a national-scale analysis of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) superspreading during the first wave of infections in Austria, a country that played a major role in initial virus transmissions in Europe. Capitalizing on Austria’s well-developed epidemiological surveillance system, we identified major SARS-CoV-2 clusters during the first wave of infections and performed deep whole-genome sequencing of more than 500 virus samples. Phylogenetic-epidemiological analysis enabled the reconstruction of superspreading events and charts a map of tourism-related viral spread originating from Austria in spring 2020. Moreover, we exploited epidemiologically well-defined clusters to quantify SARS-CoV-2 mutational dynamics, including the observation of a low-frequency mutation that progressed to fixation within the infection chain. Time-resolved virus sequencing unveiled viral mutation dynamics within individuals with COVID-19, and epidemiologically validated infector-infectee pairs enabled us to determine an average transmission bottleneck size of 103 SARS-CoV-2 particles. In conclusion, this study illustrates the power of combining epidemiological analysis with deep viral genome sequencing to unravel the spread of SARS-CoV-2, and to gain fundamental insights into mutational dynamics and transmission properties.

CD8+ T cell immunity to SARS-CoV-2 has been implicated in COVID-19 severity and virus control. Here, we identified nonsynonymous mutations in MHC-I-restricted CD8+ T cell epitopes after deep sequencing of 747 SARS-CoV-2 virus isolates. Mutant peptides exhibited diminished or abrogated MHC-I binding in a cell-free in vitro assay. Reduced MHC-I binding of mutant peptides was associated with decreased proliferation, IFN-γ production and cytotoxic activity of CD8+ T cells isolated from HLA-matched COVID-19 patients. Single cell RNA sequencing of ex vivo expanded, tetramer-sorted CD8+ T cells from COVID-19 patients further revealed qualitative differences in the transcriptional response to mutant peptides. Our findings highlight the capacity of SARS-CoV-2 to subvert CD8+ T cell surveillance through point mutations in MHC-I-restricted viral epitopes.

Immune responses are tightly regulated to ensure efficient pathogen clearance while avoiding tissue damage. Here we report that SET domain bifurcated 2 (Setdb2) was the only protein lysine methyltransferase induced during influenza virus infection. Setdb2 expression depended on type-I interferon signaling and it repressed the expression of the neutrophil attractant Cxcl1 and other NF-κB target genes. This coincided with Setdb2 occupancy at the Cxcl1 promoter, which in the absence of Setdb2 displayed reduced H3K9 tri-methylation. Setdb2 hypomorphic gene-trap mice exhibited increased neutrophil infiltration in sterile lung inflammation and were less sensitive to bacterial superinfection upon influenza virus infection. This suggests that a Setdb2-mediated regulatory crosstalk between the type-I interferon and NF-κB pathways represents an important mechanism for virus-induced susceptibility to bacterial superinfection.

Graphical Abstract Highlights d Chronic viral infection causes long-term transcriptome and proteome changes in the liver d Hepatocyte-intrinsic type I interferon (IFN-I) signaling regulates hepatic metabolism d IFN-I signaling reprograms the urea cycle in hepatocytes and alters serum metabolites d Serum levels of arginine and ornithine modulate T cell responses and pathology

Cachexia represents a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in various cancers, chronic inflammation and infections. Understanding of the mechanisms that drive cachexia has remained limited, especially for infection-associated cachexia (IAC). Here we describe a model of reversible cachexia in mice with chronic viral infection and identify an essential role for CD8+ T cells in IAC. Cytokines linked to cancer-associated cachexia did not contribute to IAC. Instead, virus-specific CD8+ T cells caused morphological and molecular changes in the adipose tissue, which led to depletion of lipid stores. These changes occurred at a time point that preceded the peak of the CD8+ T cell response and required T cell–intrinsic type 1 interferon signaling and antigen-specific priming. Our results link systemic antiviral immune responses to adipose-tissue remodeling and reveal an underappreciated role of CD8+ T cells in IAC.

Cancer is a major and still increasing cause of death in humans. Most cancer cells have a fundamentally different metabolic profile from that of normal tissue. This shift away from mitochondrial ATP synthesis via oxidative phosphorylation towards a high rate of glycolysis, termed Warburg effect, has long been recognized as a paradigmatic hallmark of cancer, supporting the increased biosynthetic demands of tumor cells. Here we show that deletion of apoptosis-inducing factor (AIF) in a KrasG12D-driven mouse lung cancer model resulted in a marked survival advantage, with delayed tumor onset and decreased malignant progression. Mechanistically, Aif deletion leads to oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) deficiency and a switch in cellular metabolism towards glycolysis in non-transformed pneumocytes and at early stages of tumor development. Paradoxically, although Aif-deficient cells exhibited a metabolic Warburg profile, this bioenergetic change resulted in a growth disadvantage of KrasG12D-driven as well as Kras wild-type lung cancer cells. Cell-autonomous re-expression of both wild-type and mutant AIF (displaying an intact mitochondrial, but abrogated apoptotic function) in Aif-knockout KrasG12D mice restored OXPHOS and reduced animal survival to the same level as AIF wild-type mice. In patients with non-small cell lung cancer, high AIF expression was associated with poor prognosis. These data show that AIF-regulated mitochondrial respiration and OXPHOS drive the progression of lung cancer.

Over the past 10 years, the field of immunometabolism made great strides to unveil the crucial role of intracellular metabolism in regulating immune cell function. Emerging insights into how systemic inflammation and metabolism influence each other provide a critical additional dimension on the organismal level. Here, we discuss the concept of systemic immunometabolism and review the current understanding of the communication circuits that underlie the reciprocal impact of systemic inflammation and metabolism across organs in inflammatory and infectious diseases, as well as how these mechanisms apply to homeostasis. We present current challenges of systemic immunometabolic research, and in this context, highlight opportunities and put forward ideas to effectively explore organismal physiological complexity in both health and disease.