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The discovery and characterization of antigen-specific CD8+ T cell clonotypes typically involves the labor-intensive synthesis and construction of peptide-MHC tetramers. We adapt single-chain trimer (SCT) technologies into a high throughput platform for pMHC library generation, showing that hundreds can be rapidly prepared across multiple Class I HLA alleles. We use this platform to explore the impact of peptide and SCT template mutations on protein expression yield, thermal stability, and functionality. SCT libraries were an efficient tool for identifying T cells recognizing commonly reported viral epitopes. We then construct SCT libraries to capture SARS-CoV-2 specific CD8+ T cells from COVID-19 participants and healthy donors. The immunogenicity of these epitopes is validated by functional assays of T cells with cloned TCRs captured using SCT libraries. These technologies should enable the rapid analyses of peptide-based T cell responses across several contexts, including autoimmunity, cancer, or infectious disease. A high-throughput platform enables the production of single-chain trimers for any pairing of peptide and Class I HLA allele for rapid discovery of epitopes and capture of antigen-specific CD8 + T cells for functional characterization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, although aqueous zinc ion batteries have caused widespread concerns, the pieces of research on new anode materials are still very limited. And herein, monoclinic MoOx anode material with impressive properties for rechargeable aqueous zinc ion batteries is synthesized by a facile N-methylpyrrolidone-assisted wet-chemical method for the first time. The monoclinic MoOx anode material delivers high initial discharge/charge capacities of 233.7/203.7 mAh g−1 at a current density of 0.5 A g−1. What is more, even at an extremely high current density of 20 A g−1, high initial discharge/charge capacities of 173.3/122.2 mAh g−1 can be still exhibited, and the highest charge capacity of 145.0 mAh g−1, which corresponds to a discharge capacity of 146.7 mAh g−1 is delivered at the 8th cycle. Furthermore, the anode material could still work effectively even after 40,000 cycles at 20 A g−1 that considerable discharge/charge capacities of 38.3/38.3 mAh g−1 can be still exhibited. The significance of the rational designing the ratio between the cathode material mass and the monoclinic MoOx anode mass is also illustrated here, and it is found the optimized cell (cathode: anode mass ratio of 2:1) exhibits great electrochemical properties enhancement including higher capacity, better rate property, and better cycle ability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, owing to the high theoretical capacity and safety, zinc-ion energy storage devices have been known as one of the most prominent energy storage devices. However, the lack of ideal electrode materials remains a crucial hindrance to developing zinc-ion energy storage devices. MXene is an ideal electrode material due to its ultra-high conductivity, particular sheet structure and unique physical and chemical properties, and it has shown excellent performance in practical applications. Therefore, this review briefly introduces the basic information about MXenes and details the applications of MXene in zinc-ion batteries and zinc-ion hybrid capacitors in recent years. Finally, the application characteristics of MXene in zinc-ion energy storage devices are summarized and an outlook is given. This paper highlights the features and advantages of zinc-ion energy storage devices more by comparing them with other energy storage devices, to provide a comprehensive reference for scholars in this field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A better understanding of the metabolic alterations in immune cells during severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection may elucidate the wide diversity of clinical symptoms experienced by individuals with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Here, we report the metabolic changes associated with the peripheral immune response of 198 individuals with COVID-19 through an integrated analysis of plasma metabolite and protein levels as well as single-cell multiomics analyses from serial blood draws collected during the first week after clinical diagnosis. We document the emergence of rare but metabolically dominant T cell subpopulations and find that increasing disease severity correlates with a bifurcation of monocytes into two metabolically distinct subsets. This integrated analysis reveals a robust interplay between plasma metabolites and cell-type-specific metabolic reprogramming networks that is associated with disease severity and could predict survival. The immune cells of individuals with COVID-19 show metabolic changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]