NF-κB/RelA Signaling Required for CD40-Induced Humoral Immunity Depends on Specific NEMO Lysine Residues in Mice.

The NF-κB signaling pathway serves several key purposes in biology, often focused on immune cells. Using their deep understanding of a specific branch of this signaling pathway, Dr. Miyamoto’s team (along with two more junior McArdle faculty, Drs. Dinh and Suzuki), discover a unique role for the NF-κB regulator NEMO in the generation of long-lived B-cell germinal centers and humoral immunity.

Li D, Wuerzberger-Davis SM, Chen Y, Phan FP, Yu M, Lisiero DN, Aguilar CC, Cleven T, Tejera MM, Khatri P, Medina N, Chen YC, Wang N, Tsourkas P, Ong I, Bednarski JJ, Dinh HQ, Hoffmann A, Sleckman BP, Suzuki A, Roopra A, Suresh M, Wang D, Miyamoto S. NF-κB/RelA signaling required for CD40-induced humoral immunity depends on specific NEMO lysine residues in mice. EMBO J. 2026 Sep;45(17):6229-6266. doi: 10.1038/s44318-026-00875-0. PMID: 42533086.

Boosting anti-leukemia cytotoxicity of CD4 and CD8 T cells through combined inhibition of MEK and HDAC.

Acute myeloid leukemia has largely resisted the immunotherapy revolution that has transformed treatment for many other cancers, in part because leukemia cells hide from the immune system and exhaust the T cells meant to attack them. Dr Jing Zhang and her team show here that by combining two existing drugs, exhausted T cells can be revived, and leukemia cells are better recognized by immune system.

Gayatri MB, Jia B, Veltri AJ, Anandan V, Yang M, Li J, Chan KMH, Verbeke S, Yao J, Granozio SE, Jiang Y, Keewan E, Cook JA, Zhu X, Ranheim EA, Wang Z, Chou CH, Nadiminti KV, Grimes HL, Suresh M, Zheng H, You X, Zhang J. Boosting anti-leukemia cytotoxicity of CD4 and CD8 T cells through combined inhibition of MEK and HDAC. Blood. 2026 Aug 4:blood.2026033417. doi: 10.1182/blood.2026033417. PMID: 42550775.

Advanced High-Resolution and Super-Resolution Microscopy Techniques for Investigating Chromatin Structure and Epigenetics.

Visualization of biological processes can be done at different resolutions, each method answering different questions. This review summarizes high resolution immunofluorescent imaging methods, describing specific fixation protocols and super-resolution spinning disc microscopy.

Chen YL, Suzuki A. Advanced High-Resolution and Super-Resolution Microscopy Techniques for Investigating Chromatin Structure and Epigenetics. Methods Mol Biol. 2026;3005:229-240. doi: 10.1007/978-1-0716-5072-1_10. PMID: 42642596.

Prognostic impact of somatic mutations among patients with pleural and peritoneal mesothelioma.

Dr. Churpek contributed to a study of nearly 200 mesothelioma patients to show that the exact mutation present in the genes associated with individual mesotheliomas can mean the difference between a good and a devastating prognosis.

Bader JM, Dhiman A, Aguirre N, Ofori KA, Gupta P, Qin H, Sharma A, Mitchell O, Tjota MY, Husain AN, Drazer M, Churpek J, Kindler H, Turaga K. Prognostic impact of somatic mutations among patients with pleural and peritoneal mesothelioma. NPJ Precis Oncol. 2026 Jul 9; 10(1). doi: 10.1038/s41698-026-01495-x. PMID: 42426379

Suppression of the myofibroblastic cancer-associated fibroblast phenotype to enhance anti-PD-1 response.

The tumor microenvironment can suppress the function of incoming immune cells, especially those creating webs of dense extracellular matrix. This study from Dr. Deming’s team identifies a specific type of fibroblast in the colorectal cancer microenvironment that can be targeted by nilotinib to make immunotherapy strategies more effective.

Johnson KA, Lippert AEL, Cornelio A, Gadalla Y, Shen X, Kraus SG, Emmerich PB, Field AM, Steimle AK, Pasch CA, Dinh HQ, Zhang W, Matkowskyj KA, Deming DA. Suppression of the myofibroblastic cancer-associated fibroblast phenotype to enhance anti-PD-1 response. J Exp Clin Cancer Res. 2026 Jul 10. doi: 10.1186/s13046-026-03779-3. PMID: 42432797.

HopeFOL, or FOL of problems? Leucovorin for autistic symptoms.

The drug Leucovorin is used in combination with cancer chemotherapy drugs to support bone marrow function and mitigate toxicity. This commentary warns that the recent FDA approval of leucovorin for the treatment of autism is not only unsupported by data, but the huge surge in requests for prescriptions could make the current shortage of leucovorin into a treatment catastrophe for cancer patients.

Holle LM, Kratz J, Dow-Hillgartner EN, Patel MA, Deming D, Uboha N, Lubner S, LoConte NK. HopeFOL, or FOL of problems? Leucovorin for autistic symptoms. Oncologist. 2026 Aug 6;31(9):oyag304. doi: 10.1093/oncolo/oyag304. PMID: 42536436; PMCID: PMC13476073.

Transkingdom interactions between HPV and the microbiome in the female reproductive tract: Gaps, challenges, and emerging perspectives.

The microbiome in various locations of mammalian bodies consists of a large diversity of species of several types of microbe, from viruses to bacteria to fungi. This review describes the interactions between these competing microbes, with a focus on the oncogenic HPV virus.

Schiff C, Łaniewski P, Herbst-Kralovetz MM, Spurgeon ME. Transkingdom interactions between HPV and the microbiome in the female reproductive tract: Gaps, challenges, and emerging perspectives. PLoS Pathog. 2026 Aug 19;22(8):e1014517. doi: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1014517. PMID: 42616758; PMCID: PMC13489458.