Kirsty Minton

2 days ago | nature.com | Kirsty Minton

Growing evidence suggests that the interindividual variation in vaccine responses may be due to differences in the gut microbiota. Mouse and human studies have shown that antibiotic exposure can impair antibody responses to certain vaccines. Here, Ryan et al. report the results of a prospective clinical study of immune responses to vaccination after early-life antibiotic exposure using a systems vaccinology approach.

3 weeks ago | nature.com | Kirsty Minton

IgE specific for inhaled allergens mediates airway hypersensitivity in asthma, a chronic condition with intermittent symptoms driven by allergen re-exposure. However, IgE-expressing B cells fail to form memory B cells (MBCs) and long-lived IgE+ plasma cells are rare. In addition, systemic, allergen-specific IgE responses are absent in some individuals with asthma. Thus, how allergen-specific IgE responses in the lung are maintained long term is unclear. Nelson et al.

1 month ago | nature.com | Kirsty Minton

Neutrophils are highly pro-inflammatory cells with well-established roles in pathogen clearance through phagocytosis, the release of antimicrobial factors and production of neutrophil extracellular traps. All these neutrophil functions can cause tissue damage and therefore must be tightly regulated. Hsu et al. report in Cell that as neutrophils age they actively release CD55+ vesicles that inhibit complement activation and thus help to resolve inflammation.

2 months ago | nature.com | Kirsty Minton

Low blood glucose concentrations, resulting from fasting or exercise, are sensed by the central nervous system, which sends neuronal signals to pancreatic alpha cells to produce the hormone glucagon. In turn, glucagon stimulates glycogenolysis and gluconeogenesis in the liver to restore blood glucose to homeostatic levels. Šestan et al.

Dec 16, 2024 | nature.com | Kirsty Minton

The muscle stretch reflex, which is mediated by sensory receptors known as muscle spindles, is a contractile response to stretch that helps to maintain muscle tone and control movement. Stretch of the muscle spindle activates sensory nerve fibres that synapse directly with motor neurons in the spinal cord, in what was previously thought to be a closed-loop neuromuscular circuit. However, Yan et al.