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This article describes how women have contributed to the research published in influential general interest journals between 1940 and 2019. The share of women published in these journals follows a U-shaped curve that troughs in the late 1970s—a decline possibly related to an increase in the number of papers being published as well as a rise in coauthoring. By the late 1970s and early 1980s, however, the share of women began increasing again, largely thanks to a rise in mixed-gendered papers. Coauthorship between women, on the other hand, was almost nonexistent until around 2010. A decade-by-decade comparison of men's and women's coauthorship networks suggests female-female networks in the most recent decade in our data (2010–19) roughly resemble male networks from earlier decades (1940–69) and highlight the key role prominent individuals play in network formation. We hypothesize that the recent growth in papers by female teams may signal that research by women collaborating with other women is receiving greater recognition in the field.

Supplemental Figure S5. Effects of DMH1 on NK cells IFN-y production and killing capacity upon target cell engagement.

Natural killer (NK) cells are critical for innate tumor immunity due to their specialized ability to recognize and kill neoplastically transformed cells. However, NK cells require a specific set of cytokine-mediated signals to achieve optimal effector function. Th1-associated cytokines promote effector functions that are inhibited by the prototypic Th2 cytokine IL4 and the TGFβ superfamily members TGFβ1 and activin-A. Interestingly, the largest subgroup of the TGFβ superfamily are the bone morphogenetic proteins (BMP), but the effects of BMP signaling on NK cell effector functions have not been evaluated. Here, we demonstrate that blood-circulating NK cells express type I and II BMP receptors, BMP-2 and BMP-6 ligands, and phosphorylated isoforms of Smad-1/-5/-8, which mediate BMP family member signaling. In opposition to the inhibitory effects of TGFβ1 or activin-A, autocrine BMP signaling was supportive to NK cell function. Mechanistic investigations in cytokine and TLR-L–activated NK cells revealed that BMP signaling optimized IFNγ and global cytokine and chemokine production, phenotypic activation and proliferation, and autologous dendritic cell activation and target cytotoxicity. Collectively, our findings identify a novel auto-activatory pathway that is essential for optimal NK cell effector function, one that might be therapeutically manipulated to help eradicate tumors. Cancer Res; 74(18); 5019–31. ©2014 AACR.

Transactions of the Leicestershire Archaeological and Historical Society, 66, 143-159, This celebration of the central achievement of the late W.G. Hoskins, Professor Emeritus of English History at the University of Leicester, concentrates on the organising principles behind his most influential writing as a local historian. An attempt is made to understand the manner in which his Leicestershire interests in particular were integrated into a wider historical perspective, not only as a result of contemporary intellectual and historiographical influences, but also because of his own personal identification with a dying provincial culture. In the process it is hoped to demonstrate that it is misleading to see Hoskins primarily as a landscape historian. Rather, his was a concern for the whole human condition at local levels.

Plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs) are potent producers of type I IFN (IFN-I) during viral infection and respond to IFN-I in a positive feedback loop that promotes their function. IFN-I shapes dendritic cell responses during helminth infection, impacting their ability to support Th2 responses. However, the role of pDCs in type 2 inflammation is unclear. Previous studies have shown that pDCs are dispensable for hepatic or splenic Th2 responses during the early stages of murine infection with the trematode Schistosoma mansoni at the onset of parasite egg laying. However, during S. mansoni infection, an ongoing Th2 response against mature parasite eggs is required to protect the liver and intestine from acute damage and how pDCs participate in immune responses to eggs and adult worms in various tissues beyond acute infection remains unclear. We now show that pDCs are required for optimal Th2 cytokine production in response to S. mansoni eggs in the intestinal-draining mesenteric lymph nodes throughout infection and for egg-specific IFN-γ at later time points of infection. Further, pDC depletion at chronic stages of infection led to increased hepatic and splenic pathology as well as abrogated Th2 cell cytokine production and activation in the liver. In vitro, mesenteric lymph node pDCs supported Th2 cell responses from infection-experienced CD4+ T cells, a process dependent on pDC IFN-I responsiveness, yet independent of Ag. Together, these data highlight a previously unappreciated role for pDCs and IFN-I in maintaining and reinforcing type 2 immunity in the lymph nodes and inflamed tissue during helminth infection.

Schistosomiasis is a disease of global significance, with severity and pathology directly related to how the host responds to infection. The immunological narrative of schistosomiasis has been constructed through decades of study, with researchers often focussing on isolated time points, cell types and tissue sites of interest. However, the field currently lacks a comprehensive and up-to-date understanding of the immune trajectory of schistosomiasis over infection and across multiple tissue sites. We have defined schistosome-elicited immune responses at several distinct stages of the parasite lifecycle, in three tissue sites affected by infection: the liver, spleen, and mesenteric lymph nodes. Additionally, by performing RNA-seq on the livers of schistosome infected mice, we have generated novel transcriptomic insight into the development of schistosome-associated liver pathology and fibrosis across the breadth of infection. Through depletion of CD11c+cells during peak stages of schistosome-driven inflammation, we have revealed a critical role for CD11c+cells in the co-ordination and regulation of Th2 inflammation during infection. Our data provide an updated and high-resolution account of how host immune responses evolve over the course of murine schistosomiasis, underscoring the significance of CD11c+cells in dictating host immunopathology against this important helminth infection.

X-ray micro-computed tomography (μCT) is a technique which can obtain three-dimensional images of a sample, including its internal structure, without the need for destructive sectioning. Here, we review the capability of the technique and examine its potential to provide novel insights into the lifestyles of parasites embedded within host tissue. The current capabilities and limitations of the technology in producing contrast in soft tissues are discussed, as well as the potential solutions for parasitologists looking to apply this technique. We present example images of the mouse whipworm Trichuris muris and discuss the application of μCT to provide unique insights into parasite behaviour and pathology, which are inaccessible to other imaging modalities.

Type 2 inflammation is a defining feature of infection with parasitic worms(helminths), as well as being responsible for widespread suffering in allergies.However, the precise mechanisms involved in T helper (Th) 2 polarization bydendritic cells (DCs) are currently unclear. We have identified a previouslyunrecognized role for type I IFN (IFN-I) in enabling this process. An IFN-Isignature was evident in DCs responding to the helminth Schistosomamansoni or the allergen house dust mite (HDM). Further, IFN-I signaling wasrequired for optimal DC phenotypic activation in response to helminth antigen(Ag), and efficient migration to, and localization with, T cells in the draininglymph node (dLN). Importantly, DCs generated from Ifnar1-/- mice wereincapable of initiating Th2 responses in vivo. These data demonstrate for thefirst time that the influence of IFN-I is not limited to antiviral or bacterialsettings but also has a central role to play in DC initiation of Th2 responses.

Methyl-CpG-binding domain-2 (Mbd2) acts as an epigenetic regulator of gene expression, by linking DNA methylation to repressive chromatin structure. Although Mbd2 is widely expressed in gastrointestinal immune cells and is implicated in regulating intestinal cancer, anti-helminth responses and colonic inflammation, the Mbd2-expressing cell types that control these responses are incompletely defined. Indeed, epigenetic control of gene expression in cells that regulate intestinal immunity is generally poorly understood, even though such mechanisms may explain the inability of standard genetic approaches to pinpoint the causes of conditions like inflammatory bowel disease. In this study we demonstrate a vital role for Mbd2 in regulating murine colonic inflammation. Mbd2−/− mice displayed dramatically worse pathology than wild type controls during dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) induced colitis, with increased inflammatory (IL-1β+) monocytes. Profiling of mRNA from innate immune and epithelial cell (EC) populations suggested that Mbd2 suppresses inflammation and pathology via control of innate-epithelial cell crosstalk and T cell recruitment. Consequently, restriction of Mbd2 deficiency to CD11c+ dendritic cells and macrophages, or to ECs, resulted in increased DSS colitis severity. Our identification of this dual role for Mbd2 in regulating the inflammatory capacity of both CD11c+ cells and ECs highlights how epigenetic control mechanisms may limit intestinal inflammatory responses.

X-ray micro-computed tomography (μCT) is a technique which can obtain three-dimensional images of a sample, including its internal structure, without the need for destructive sectioning. Here, we review the capability of the technique and examine its potential to provide novel insights into the lifestyles of parasites embedded within host tissue. The current capabilities and limitations of the technology in producing contrast in soft tissues are discussed, as well as the potential solutions for parasitologists looking to apply this technique. We present example images of the mouse whipworm Trichuris muris and discuss the application of μCT to provide unique insights into parasite behaviour and pathology, which are inaccessible to other imaging modalities.

Retinoic acid modulates the functions of IL-4 in alternatively activated DCs, The archetypal Th2 cytokine IL-4 has previously been shown to alternatively activate murine macrophages and, more recently, dendritic cells (DCs) both in vitro and in vivo. IL-4 has also been shown to induce Aldh1a2 (aldehyde dehydrogenase 1a2) expression in murine macrophages recruited to the peritoneal cavity. However, the influence of IL-4 on DC Aldh1a2 induction in vivo has not yet been addressed. In this work, we found that DCs show enhanced aldehyde dehydrogenase enzyme activity in vivo, which led us to investigate the impact of the vitamin A metabolite all-trans retinoic acid (RA) on DC alternative activation and function. Antagonism of RA receptors reduced production of resistin-like molecule alpha by DCs responding to IL-4, while addition of exogenous RA enhanced production of this marker of alternative activation. Functionally, RA increased DC induction of CD4+ T-cell IL-10, while reducing CD4+ T-cell IL-4 and IL-13, revealing a previously unidentified role for RA in regulating the ability of alternatively activated DCs to influence Th2 polarization.