Laurie A. Dempsey

New York

Senior Editor at Nature

Featured in: Favicon

nature.com

Articles

Building immune barriers - Nature Immunology

3 weeks ago | nature.com | Laurie A. Dempsey

Tissues such as the skin, lungs and gut are constantly exposed to diverse microbial communities and must maintain tight barriers to prevent infection of underlying tissues. In Nature, Vicanolo et al. identify a unique subset of tissue-resident neutrophils found in barrier tissues that are capable of synthesizing extracellular matrix (ECM) components, such as collagen and fibronectin, that contribute to barrier formation.
Tissue directives - Nature Immunology

1 month ago | nature.com | Laurie A. Dempsey

Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) offers potentially curative therapies for patients with in-borne hematopoietic disorders or those undergoing treatments for hematological malignancies. However, notable morbidity or mortality can occur in patients receiving HSCT, owing to graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). In Science Translational Medicine, Omdahl et al.
Recruiting lymphocytes - Nature Immunology

2 months ago | nature.com | Laurie A. Dempsey

Circulating naive lymphocytes are recruited from the blood to homeostatic lymph nodes (LNs) by the chemokines CCL19 and CCL21, which are ligands for the CCR7 receptor. However, upon infection and inflammation, reactive LNs undergo structural changes and alter their gene expression to facilitate lymphocyte activation. In Cell, Chen et al. examine how inflammation alters the chemotactic signals for LN recruitment of naive lymphocytes.
Dosage compensation in T cells - Nature Immunology

Oct 28, 2024 | nature.com | Laurie A. Dempsey

X chromosome inactivation (XCI) occurs in female mammals to normalize gene expression of sex chromosomes. This process is known to involve cis-mediated interactions by the long-noncoding RNA Xist on the inactive X (Xi) chromosome. This process is often incomplete with some genes that escape XCI (such as Xist) and many immune-relevant genes are expressed on the X chromosome, which might contribute to sex biases in autoimmune diseases and immune responses. In Science Immunology, Forsyth et al.
γδ T cells tune allergic itch - Nature Immunology

Sep 4, 2024 | nature.com | Laurie A. Dempsey

Protease allergens, such as papain or found in extracts of mosquito saliva or fire ants, induce an itch response. How skin-resident innate immune cells influence this cutaneous sensory neuron response is unclear. In Nature, Flayer et al. identify a distinct IL-3-expressing γδ T cell subset (termed GD3) that resides in the skin epidermis and interacts with PEP1 neurons to enhance itch responses and subsequent TH2 allergic immune responses to protease allergens.
IFN versus AHR-JUN - Nature Immunology

Jul 31, 2024 | nature.com | Laurie A. Dempsey

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is characterized by increased frequencies of autoreactive B cells and T cells, resulting in the production of autoantibodies. In Nature, Law et al. show type I interferons (IFNs), a hallmark cytokine associated with SLE pathogenesis, skew the polarization of circulating CD4+ T cells towards CXCL13-expressing T peripheral helper (TPH) cells that can recruit B cells into affected tissues to promote local autoantibody production.
Nociceptors enhance humoral immunity - Nature Immunology

Jul 1, 2024 | nature.com | Laurie A. Dempsey

Increasing evidence indicates direct communication channels exist between the nervous and immune systems. In Cell, Wu et al. show that nociceptor sensory neurons originating in the dorsal root ganglia innervate the spleen along vascular networks to reach B cell zones and promote geminal center responses. Depletion of nociceptor neurons in mice led to reduced numbers of germinal cell B cells and plasmablasts compared with controls after immunization with nitrophenyl (NP)-haptenated antigen.
New role for TLR9 - Nature Immunology

May 2, 2024 | nature.com | Laurie A. Dempsey

Toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9) is an innate immune sensor that recognizes intracellular double-stranded DNA (dsDNA). In Nature, Jovasevic et al. show that TLR9–NF-κB signaling in specific hippocampal neurons is required for the generation of learning-induced memory formation in mice.
Facilitating broad antibody responses - Nature Immunology

Apr 2, 2024 | nature.com | Laurie A. Dempsey

A goal of immunization against highly mutable viruses is to elicit broadly neutralizing antibody responses. In Science, Sharma et al. report that the glycosphingolipid globotriaosylceramide (Gb3, also known as CD77) increases antibody affinity and diversity after immunization in a mouse model of influenza. Gb3 is highly expressed on germinal center B cells, where its abundance is regulated by α1,4-galactose modification.
CD8+ TRM cells in perpetual motion - Nature Immunology

Jan 22, 2024 | nature.com | Laurie A. Dempsey

T cell motility in tissues is thought to be directed by chemokine gradients and integrin-dependent adhesive interactions within the stromal environment. In Science Immunology, Ruef et al. identify a new form of chemoattractant-independent immune surveillance by tissue-resident CD8+ T memory (TRM) cells that reside in exocrine gland tissues.