IMAGE Lab

IMAGE Lab

@labphan.bsky.social

B cells | Macrophages | Immunity | Autoimmunity | Cancer | Osteoclasts | Osteomorphs | Intravital imaging | Precision Immunology

1.3K followers1K following136 posts

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IMAGE Lab
@labphan.bsky.social

Happy #DayofImmunology! Congrats @ramadhenni.bsky.social & Alexandra Carey Hoppé it's out (finally!) @cp-cell.bsky.social! Incredibly grateful to co-leads @mlmunier.bsky.social, Vanessa Venturi & Tony Kelleher & all brilliant folks @garvaninstitute.bsky.social & Kirby Inst. for fantastic collab! 🧵

sciencedirect.comMacrophages direct location-dependent recall of B cell memory to vaccinationVaccines generate long-lived plasma cells and memory B cells (Bmems) that may re-enter secondary germinal centers (GCs) to further mutate their B cell…

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Deepta Bhattacharya
@deeptabhattacha.bsky.social

This! I feel like @gquirk96.bsky.social and I've been shouting into the wind. Don't assume that original antigenic sin is why we don't make antibodies against certain drifted epitopes. Some are just inherently not antigenic, irrespective of prior immunity. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

nature.comIntrinsic immunogenicity is a major determinant of type-specific responses in SARS-CoV-2 infections - Nature ImmunologyBhattacharya and colleagues assess the impact of antigenic imprinting using samples from mRNA vaccinated or unvaccinated individuals primarily infected with the SARS-CoV-2 variants Delta and Omicron B...
Bloom lab@jbloomlab.bsky.social

In new study, we show that SARS-CoV-2 has evolved decreased inherent antigenicity in humans, as quantified by a ~3-fold decrease in the number of naïve human B cells that can bind the spike RBD. doi.org/10.64898/202...

doi.orgdoi.org

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Chan Phetsouphanh, PhD
@chantibody.bsky.social

UNSW Scientia PhD Scholarship opportunity- Domestic students are eligible. We are recruiting an exceptional PhD candidate for a project focused on precision immunopeptidomics towards an HIV cure at the Kirby Institute, UNSW Sydney. Learn more and apply: www.unsw.edu.au/research/hdr...

unsw.edu.auPrecision Immunopeptidomics Towards HIV CureDespite the success of antiretroviral therapy, HIV persists in long-lived reservoir cells that evade immune detection. Current HIV cure strategies have had limited success because they rely largely on...

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Garvan Institute
@garvaninstitute.bsky.social

Female and male immune systems work differently, but those differences have traditionally not been studied - despite 80% of people living with an autoimmune disease being women. Dr Skvortsova and her team are investigating what these differences mean. 🔗 https://ow.ly/26g750ZW89r #MedicalResearch

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Carrie Sokol
@carriesokol.bsky.social

1/ Why can you encounter an allergen repeatedly before becoming allergic to it? In our new @cp-immunity.bsky.social paper, led by the wonderful Xueping Zhu, we asked whether the sensory neurons that first detect allergens might carry a record of earlier exposures. 🧵 www.cell.com/immunity/ful...

cell.comSensory neuronal mTORC1 kinase signaling establishes neuroimmune memory that initiates allergic immunityHow cumulative environmental allergen exposures are encoded by peripheral sensory neurons to shape immune responsiveness is unclear. Zhu et al. show that protease allergens induce an mTORC1-dependent,...

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Melike Eren
@neurowithmelike.bsky.social

It's great when researchers are passionately committed to their fields of study. However, I find it dangerous when people spend too much time in one area and fall in love with their theories. At some point, instead of researching their theories, they try to incorporate

IMAGE Lab reposted

Nature Reviews Immunology
@natrevimmunol.nature.com

Can immunology still surprise itself?

dlvr.itCan immunology still surprise itself?Nature Reviews Immunology, Published online: 24 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41577-026-01351-wThe discoveries that have transformed immunology often seem obvious in retrospect. Yet none began as an inevitable destination. They began with observations that did not fit, assumptions that somebody challenged, or questions that nobody yet realized were important. Discovery was the outcome. Surprise was the process.

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vincentholst.bsky.social
@vincentholst.bsky.social

In 2023, @nature.com published 'Papers and patents are becoming less disruptive over time', receiving world-wide media attention. Our Matters Arising, published after a 32 month delay (more on that soon), shows that the reported decline can largely be attributed to dataset artefacts. 🧵

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Yoshihiko Tomofuji
@ytomofuji.bsky.social

We are excited to share our latest preprint on surface protein QTL mapping & experimental fine-mapping of the CD40 autoimmune locus in B cells w/ @soumya-boston.bsky.social @broadinstitute.org @mgbresearch.bsky.social ! 🧬🧵👇 🔗 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

biorxiv.orgIdentifying the causal allele in the CD40 autoimmune locus enables discovery of context-specific trans-effects in B cellsThousands of genetic variants are associated with autoimmune diseases, but causal variants, their mechanisms, and the pathogenic context in which they act are elusive. Knowledge of pathogenic contexts...
IMAGE Lab
@labphan.bsky.social

Watched in awe as this epic evolved over many years & now out @natgenet.nature.com. Int'l team led @imperialcollegeldn.bsky.social, @garvaninstitute.bsky.social & TRI/UQ. What a high bar!Mouse to human, cells to gene, gene to function. Foundation for cancer, blood, immune diseases that involve bone!

nature.comMultiscale analysis and functional validation of the cellular and genetic determinants of skeletal disease - Nature GeneticsThe study integrates cross-species single-cell and genomic analyses with functional validations to map the endosteal bone compartment, revealing musculoskeletal-disease-relevant cell types and transcr...
IMAGE Lab
@labphan.bsky.social

Amazing work congrats Allegra and team! Go @kseskv.bsky.social Precision Immunology @garvaninstitute.bsky.social !

Allegra Angeloni@angeloniallegra.bsky.social

Our work on 5mC reprogramming in the fat-tailed dunnart is now out in @natcomms.nature.com 🥳 huge thanks to our collaborators, and to the reviewers for their time and feedback! @kseskv.bsky.social @oligriffith.bsky.social doi.org/10.1038/s414...

doi.orgDNA methylation reprogramming in marsupial embryos is restricted to the extraembryonic lineage - Nature CommunicationsHere the authors generate a new genome and the first embryonic methylomes of an Australian marsupial to show that the embryo retains high DNA methylation while the trophectoderm undergoes erasure...
IMAGE Lab
@labphan.bsky.social

Breakfast!

Thomas [DARK MODE], DO 🫐@tom.medsky.social

Viet Corner: Long Xuyên is the largest city in the Mekong Delta. It's known for cơm tấm or "broken rice". The farmers could not sell broken rice grains to the nobles and rich folk so they ate it for themselves. This is a local special served with sliced pork and fish sauce. 75k dong or about $3.

IMAGE Lab
@labphan.bsky.social

Impressive impact of the WHO EPI 1974-2024. Last year we learnt over 50 years the EPI saved 154 million lives (incl. 146 million children <5 years). New data now shows every $1 invested in EPI returned $15 in economic benefit from lives saved. Invest in science!

sciencedirect.comGlobal, regional, and national impact of the Expanded Programme on Immunization against 14 pathogens from 1974 to 2024: an economic evaluation2024 marked the 50th anniversary of the Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI), launched by WHO. Despite its crucial role in preventing infectious d…

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Amy C Fan (she/her)
@amycfanphd.bsky.social

Excited to announce our new study (w/ @maxkrummel.bsky.social) published today @nature.com: Macrophages “hold our living identities” by taking tiny bites from living cells and presenting this information to CD8 T cells. www.nature.com/articles/s41... #immunology #cellbiology @immunox.bsky.social

nature.comSubmicrometre sampling of living cells by macrophages - NatureMacrophages can sample antigens from living cells through a trogocytosis-like mechanism&nbsp;that routes ingested material away from degradation, a finding that delineates a previously unknown pathway...
IMAGE Lab
@labphan.bsky.social

It's been a while time to give #immunology @bsky.app another go...Thrilled to share work led by Dr Yuki Keith & colleagues @garvaninstitute.bsky.social, UNSW & Melanoma Institute Australia now out @jem.org. CD169+ macs in skin surround & constrain melanoma growth independent of T and B cells! 1/2

rupress.orgCSF1R-dependent CD169-positive macrophages locally constrain melanoma growth in the skinTissue-resident CSF1R-dependent CD169+ macrophages localize deep in the skin. They surround growing tumors and directly suppress their growth independent o
IMAGE Lab
@labphan.bsky.social

Intravital imaging showed these macs nibbling and engulfing live melanoma cells. This was independent of PS receptor MERTK. How are they able to recognise and phagocytose melanoma cells without opsonisation by antibodies? Can we exploit this for cancer immunotherapy? Lots to do! Please share! 2/2

IMAGE Lab
@labphan.bsky.social

What better way to celebrate Mother's Day and World Lupus Day! New from @seyhanyazar.bsky.social @garvaninstitute.bsky.social together with Joseph Powell, Sara Ballouz and colleagues. SLE affects 9 women to every man. Yet they show most sex-DEG were on autosomes and not sex chromosome!

cell.comThe impact of sex on the immune system explored at the single-cell levelYazar et al. characterized sex-based immune differences at single-cell resolution using sex-differential expression (differentially expressed genes [DEGs]) and sex-stratified expression quantitative l...
IMAGE Lab
@labphan.bsky.social

Check out this cool new paper from Mike Rogers lab @garvaninstitute.bsky.social out in @cp-immunity.bsky.social! Their new model of MKD deficiency (aka Hyper IgD syndrome) as a "prenylopathy": NK cell degranulation defect -> compensatory increase IFN gamma -> autoinflammation. Can Rx with JAKi!

cell.comNK cell dysfunction and interferon gamma production underlie autoinflammation in mevalonate kinase deficiencyThe mechanisms linking defective protein prenylation to systemic inflammation in mevalonate kinase deficiency remain unclear. Munoz et al. reveal that mice and humans with MKD have defective NK cells,...
IMAGE Lab
@labphan.bsky.social

If in Sydney don't miss the #free 2025 Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year exhibit at the Australian Museum! The photos are breathtaking & Ross Gudgeon’s Fractal Forest inside-out macro of a soft cauliflower coral was mind blowing! Though... @ausgeo.newsmast.social.ap.brid.gy

australian.museum2025 Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the YearSee nature in a whole new light in this stunning, photographic exhibition, featuring works by some of the world's best nature photographers.
IMAGE Lab
@labphan.bsky.social

The Szilard Point is not some theoretical event horizon. It is where we are at right now. When the total cost of competing for a grant exceeds the value of available funding the system is seriously broken. We need innovative granting schemes and solutions not more of the same hunger games.

nature.comPoint of no returns: researchers are crossing a threshold in the fight for fundingWith so little money to go round, the costs of competing for grants can exceed what the grants are worth. When that happens, nobody wins.
IMAGE Lab
@labphan.bsky.social

Beautiful work congrats everyone!

Michela Locci@michelalocci.bsky.social

I am excited to share that our work, in which we have dissected the signals driven by the nucleoside-modified mRNA and LNP components of mRNA vaccines that regulate germinal center (GC) responses, is now published in Cell! www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...

cell.comDistinct components of mRNA vaccines cooperate to instruct efficient germinal center responsesThis study dissects the individual contributions of the different components of mRNA vaccines to immune responses. Nucleoside-modified mRNA promotes the production of type I interferons that act on de...
IMAGE Lab
@labphan.bsky.social

These 2 landmark papers came out at the start of my PhD. Science and clinic. Literally back to back. It has been an enduring inspiration ever since to be a part of this wonderful experiment called immunology.

Center for Cancer Immunotherapy and Immunobiology@ccii-kyoto.bsky.social

In a @cp-cell.bsky.social Benchmarks article, Masamichi Muramatsu, Sidonia Fagarasan et al tell the story of the discovery of AID in the Honjo lab, solving the decades long mystery of the molecular effector of Ig class switch recombination and somatic hypermutation. #Immunology

cell.comActivation-induced cytidine deaminase: The missing piece of many puzzlesTwenty-five years ago, two Cell papers reported the key missing functional piece in three molecular puzzles. The genetic swapping of immunoglobulin constant regions, the mutational fine-tuning of anti...

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Thiago Carvalho
@cyrilpedia.bsky.social

AID's role in class switch recombination & somatic hypermutation was published in @cellpress.bsky.social 25 years ago, a tour de force combo of mouse gene discovery & mechanistic work (Honjo lab) and human genetics (Durandy, Fischer et al). What a privilege to write this with Sidonia & Masamichi

cell.comActivation-induced cytidine deaminase: The missing piece of many puzzlesTwenty-five years ago, two Cell papers reported the key missing functional piece in three molecular puzzles. The genetic swapping of immunoglobulin constant regions, the mutational fine-tuning of anti...
IMAGE Lab
@labphan.bsky.social

Looking forward to this see you there Deepta!

Deepta Bhattacharya@deeptabhattacha.bsky.social

I’m co-organizing a Keystone conference on B cells and plasma cells with Kim Good-Jacobson and Taras Kreslavsky! Deadlines for abstracts and scholarships is Nov 13. Great lineup of basic, translational, and industry speakers. Please repost! www.keystonesymposia.org/conferences/...

keystonesymposia.orgB Cells and Plasma Cells: Fundamental and Translational Biology | Keystone SymposiaJoin us at the Keystone Symposia on B Cells and Plasma Cells: Fundamental and Translational Biology, March 2026, in Keystone, with field leaders!
IMAGE Lab
@labphan.bsky.social

Out @nature.com led by @jdegregori.bsky.social Mercedes Rincon @roelvermeulen.bsky.social @jaguirreghisolab.bsky.social et al. in vivo mouse models & human data show resp. infections drive IL-6 dependent re-awakening of dormant cancer cells in lung. So much to like about this paper! Congrats all!

nature.comRespiratory viral infections awaken metastatic breast cancer cells in lungs - NatureMouse models show that respiratory infections from viruses such as influenza and SARS-CoV-2 can trigger metastasis of dormant breast cancer cells in the lungs, a finding supported by epidemiological d...
IMAGE Lab
@labphan.bsky.social

Very excited at the chance to work with new people with new ideas in immunology! Really keen to hear from people from diverse backgrounds with different ways of thinking. International applicants seeking freedom to pursue BlueSky projects welcome. Come for the science. Stay for the vibe! #immunosky

Dr Elissa Deenick@elissadeenick.bsky.social

The Precision Immunology and Immune Biotherapies Programs at the Garvan Institute are looking for new Faculty members. Come join us and work with amazing scientists in an amazing place @labphan.bsky.social @garvaninstitute.bsky.social www.nature.com/naturecareer...

nature.comGarvan Faculty Member - Sydney (LGA), New South Wales (AU) job with The Garvan Institute | 12841341The Garvan Institute invites applicants for Faculty-level positions in the Immune Biotherapies and Precision Immunology Programs.
IMAGE Lab
@labphan.bsky.social

Cells exist in discrete cell states (clusters) but also cells show a continuum of gene expression (trajectory). @urialonlab.bsky.social first used archetype analysis to reconcile this paradox - the bioinformatic equivalent of wave-particle duality. This works if the ambient data space is linear. 2/3

sciencedirect.comContinuum of Gene-Expression Profiles Provides Spatial Division of Labor within a Differentiated Cell TypeSingle-cell gene expression reveals the diversity within a differentiated cell type. Often, cells of the same type show a continuum of gene-expression…
IMAGE Lab
@labphan.bsky.social

But sc data is noisy and nonlinear. AAnet takes archetype analysis to the next level by using an autoencoder to transform the data into a simplicial latent space. AAnet more accurately defines heterogeneity within cellular clusters & druggable transcriptional programs that drive heterogeneity. 3/3

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Joe Sabatino
@jsabatino37.bsky.social

Very pleased to co-write this review with Bruce Cree and Steve Hauser on the future of #multiplesclerosis treatment onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

onlinelibrary.wiley.comNew Horizons for Multiple Sclerosis Therapy: 2025 and BeyondThe advances achieved against multiple sclerosis (MS) represent one of the great success stories of modern molecular medicine. The development of therapies with increasing selectivity and safety, gui....

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Cheri Sirois
@cherisirois.bsky.social

Though every Cell paper is special, I occasionally get a paper that ✨delights✨ me from start to finish. These astute scientists found a unique opportunity to study an audacious snake venom enthusiast and uncovered antibodies that could serve as a broad antidote to snakebites. 🐍

Cell - a Cell Press journal@cp-cell.bsky.social

Now online! Snake venom protection by a cocktail of varespladib and broadly neutralizing human antibodies

dlvr.itSnake venom protection by a cocktail of varespladib and broadly neutralizing human antibodiesTo combat snake bites from diverse species, this work identifies broadly neutralizing antibodies from a donor hyperimmune to snake venom, and it demonstrates that a combination of two of the identified antibodies with an inhibitory drug can protect mice from envenomation by medically important snakes found around the world.