The Comprehensive Antibiotic Resistance Database (CARD; https://card.mcmaster.ca) is a curated resource providing reference DNA and protein sequences, detection models and bioinformatics tools on the molecular basis of bacterial antimicrobial resistance (AMR). CARD focuses on providing high-quality reference data and molecular sequences within a controlled vocabulary, the Antibiotic Resistance Ontology (ARO), designed by the CARD biocuration team to integrate with software development efforts for resistome analysis and prediction, such as CARD’s Resistance Gene Identifier (RGI) software. Since 2017, CARD has expanded through extensive curation of reference sequences, revision of the ontological structure, curation of over 500 new AMR detection models, development of a new classification paradigm and expansion of analytical tools. Most notably, a new Resistomes & Variants module provides analysis and statistical summary of in silico predicted resistance variants from 82 pathogens and over 100 000 genomes. By adding these resistance variants to CARD, we are able to summarize predicted resistance using the information included in CARD, identify trends in AMR mobility and determine previously undescribed and novel resistance variants. Here, we describe updates and recent expansions to CARD and its biocuration process, including new resources for community biocuration of AMR molecular reference data.
IgA is produced in large quantities at mucosal surfaces by IgA+ plasma cells (PC), protecting the host from pathogens, and restricting commensal access to the subepithelium. It is becoming increasingly appreciated that IgA+ PC are not constrained to mucosal barrier sites. Rather, IgA+ PC may leave these sites where they provide both host defense and immunoregulatory function. In this review, we will outline how IgA+ PC are generated within the mucosae and how they subsequently migrate to their “classical” effector site, the gut lamina propria. From there we provide examples of IgA+ PC displacement from the gut to other parts of the body, referencing examples during homeostasis and inflammation. Lastly, we will speculate on mechanisms of IgA+ PC displacement to other tissues. Our aim is to provide a new perspective on how IgA+ PC are truly fantastic beasts of the immune system and identify new places to find them.
IgE production against innocuous antigens can lead to life-threatening reactions such as anaphylaxis. While IgE levels drastically decline with strict allergen avoidance, the ability to regenerate IgE can persist for a lifetime, as is the case for peanut allergy. The mechanism by which 20 IgE regenerates remains unresolved. A novel culture system and application of single-cell RNAsequencing, elucidated the transcriptomic signature of human peanut-reactive B and T cells and revealed IL-4/IL-13 as a signaling pathway critical for the IgE recall response. Indeed, interruption of this pathway not only prevented IgE production and anaphylaxis, but also reprogrammed the pathogenic response against peanut. This investigation advances our understanding of the 25 mechanism that regenerates IgE in food allergy and spotlights IL-4/IL-13 blockade as a therapeutic with disease-transforming potential.One Sentence Summary: Single-cell transcriptomics of allergic memory responses reveals how to teach the immune system to forget.Main Text: Adaptive immunity's hallmarks of specificity and memory play a central role in 30 human health and disease. Studying pathogen-host interactions have revealed fundamental immunological insights and inform the rational design of therapeutics (e.g. vaccines). However, maladaptive immune responses, such as in allergy, may not operate under the same rules as in infection. Therefore, understanding the mechanisms of allergic disease may uncover novel immunological principles and also inform new potential therapies. 35Food allergy affects millions worldwide and remains devoid of disease-transforming therapies. Immunoglobulin (Ig) E is the key effector molecule mediating food-induced allergic reactions. While there is evidence that serum levels of allergen-specific IgE drastically decline after extended periods of allergen avoidance (1-3), the capacity to regenerate IgE following re-35
The CNS is tightly regulated to maintain immune surveillance and efficiently respond to injury and infections. The current appreciation that specialized “brain-adjacent” regions in the CNS are in fact not immune privileged during the steady state, and that immune cells can take up residence in more immune-privileged areas of the CNS during inflammation with consequences on the adjacent brain parenchyma, beg the question of what cell types support CNS immunity. As they do in secondary lymphoid organs, we provide evidence in this review that stromal cells also underpin brain-resident immune cells. We review the organization and function of stromal cells in different anatomical compartments of the CNS and discuss their capacity to rapidly establish and elaborate an immune-competent niche that further sustains immune cells entering the CNS from the periphery. In summary, we argue that stromal cells are key cellular agents that support CNS-compartmentalized immunity.
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