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Gut dysbiosis, metabolic signals, and pulmonary immune reprogramming: decoding the gut microbiota -immune axis in stroke-associated pneumonia

Front Immunol. 2026 Aug 27;17:1812306. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2026.1812306. eCollection 2026.

ABSTRACT

Stroke-associated pneumonia (SAP) is the most common infectious complication following acute stroke. The limited efficacy of conventional antimicrobial therapy suggests that SAP may be fundamentally a syndrome driven by dysregulated cross-system interactions. This review proposes the "gut microbiota-immune axis" (GMIA) as a comprehensive framework for the development of SAP and systematically discusses the potential mechanisms by which post-stroke microbial-derived metabolic signals-including short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), bile acids, tryptophan metabolites, and endotoxins-drive systemic immune reprogramming, predisposing patients to SAP. Based on the GMIA, we highlight several promising intervention strategies, including dietary modulation, precision antibiotic use, probiotics, fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT), supplementation with microbial metabolites, and receptor-targeted therapies, and summarize the current clinical translation related to the GMIA. Future research directions require high-quality clinical trials that integrate multi-omics data from the microbiome with immune biomarkers and clinical parameters. Such an approach is essential for constructing validated risk stratification models and advancing the management of SAP from empirical anti-infective treatment toward a precision medicine model centered on GMIA-based immune modulation.

PMID:42724580 | PMC:PMC13560329 | DOI:10.3389/fimmu.2026.1812306

Multi-Omics-Enabled Precision Strategies for Overcoming CAR-T Therapy Limitations in Gastrointestinal Malignancies

Biofactors. 2026 Sep-Oct;52(5):e70150. doi: 10.1002/biof.70150.

ABSTRACT

Gastrointestinal malignancies, including gastric cancer, colorectal cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma, and pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, remain major causes of cancer-related morbidity and mortality worldwide. Although chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapy has revolutionized the treatment of hematologic malignancies, its efficacy in gastrointestinal solid tumors remains limited by antigen heterogeneity, insufficient trafficking and infiltration, immunosuppressive tumor microenvironments, on-target off-tumor toxicity, and adaptive resistance. In this review, we summarize the current landscape of CAR-T therapy in gastric cancer, colorectal cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma, and pancreatic cancer, with a focus on representative target antigens and emerging biomarker strategies. We further discuss two major categories of biomarkers: target antigen-related biomarkers and conventional dynamic biomarkers, including serum tumor markers, cytokine changes, CAR-T expansion kinetics, and antigen-loss monitoring. In addition, we highlight how single-cell ribonucleic acid sequencing and spatial transcriptomics provide complementary insights into cellular states, immune exhaustion, stromal barriers, and spatially restricted immune exclusion. By integrating these multi-omics approaches with biomarker-guided patient stratification and next-generation CAR-T engineering, gastrointestinal solid tumor CAR-T therapy may evolve from empirical optimization toward mechanism-driven and precision-guided clinical translation.

PMID:42717494 | PMC:PMC13558850 | DOI:10.1002/biof.70150

Fibronectin 1 mediated histone lactylation promotes malignant progression of GIST regulated by m<sup>6</sup>A modification

Cell Death Discovery, Published online: 11 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41420-026-03338-x

Fibronectin 1 mediated histone lactylation promotes malignant progression of GIST regulated by m6A modification

A global digital navigator of human health for precision medicine

Nature Medicine, Published online: 11 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41591-026-04621-1

The International Consortium of Digital Twins in Healthcare and Medicine was established to advance medical digital twin technology as a new infrastructure for precision health.

Joint impact of pathological burden and cognitive resilience on Alzheimer’s disease risk

Nature Medicine, Published online: 11 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41591-026-04635-9

A 15-year cohort study shows that Alzheimer’s dementia risk is jointly shaped by Alzheimer’s pathology and cognitive resilience, with high resilience linked to lower risk, even under greater pathology.

Multi-Omics-Enabled Precision Strategies for Overcoming CAR-T Therapy Limitations in Gastrointestinal Malignancies

Biofactors. 2026 Sep-Oct;52(5):e70150. doi: 10.1002/biof.70150.

ABSTRACT

Gastrointestinal malignancies, including gastric cancer, colorectal cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma, and pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, remain major causes of cancer-related morbidity and mortality worldwide. Although chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapy has revolutionized the treatment of hematologic malignancies, its efficacy in gastrointestinal solid tumors remains limited by antigen heterogeneity, insufficient trafficking and infiltration, immunosuppressive tumor microenvironments, on-target off-tumor toxicity, and adaptive resistance. In this review, we summarize the current landscape of CAR-T therapy in gastric cancer, colorectal cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma, and pancreatic cancer, with a focus on representative target antigens and emerging biomarker strategies. We further discuss two major categories of biomarkers: target antigen-related biomarkers and conventional dynamic biomarkers, including serum tumor markers, cytokine changes, CAR-T expansion kinetics, and antigen-loss monitoring. In addition, we highlight how single-cell ribonucleic acid sequencing and spatial transcriptomics provide complementary insights into cellular states, immune exhaustion, stromal barriers, and spatially restricted immune exclusion. By integrating these multi-omics approaches with biomarker-guided patient stratification and next-generation CAR-T engineering, gastrointestinal solid tumor CAR-T therapy may evolve from empirical optimization toward mechanism-driven and precision-guided clinical translation.

PMID:42717494 | PMC:PMC13558850 | DOI:10.1002/biof.70150

Segmented poly(A) tails with microRNA target sites confer tissue-specific regulation for mRNA therapeutics

Zhang and colleagues engineered the poly(A) tail as a programmable regulatory element, showing that embedding cell-type-specific microRNA target sites directly within it confers robust, position-dependent silencing in off-target tissues while preserving activity in target cells. This strategy offers a new modular tool to enhance mRNA therapeutic safety and precision.

An mRNA–lipid nanoparticle vaccine targeting the Plasmodium vivax E140 antigen

Immunization with a nucleoside-modified mRNA-LNP vaccine encoding the conserved malaria antigen E140 induced durable humoral immunity in mice and generated invasion-blocking antibodies against Plasmodium vivax. The results highlight E140 as a promising candidate for next-generation malaria vaccines.

Inhaled nanosilica orchestrates a pulmonary macrophage-NK cell axis for memory-like NK programming toward synergistic cancer immunotherapy

Yuan and colleagues demonstrate that inhaled biodegradable nanosilica activates an alveolar macrophage–NK axis, triggering an IL-12/15/18 triad that programs memory-like NK cells. This non-fibrotic, cell-free strategy suppresses melanoma growth, prevents postsurgical recurrence, and synergizes with anti-PD-1, establishing a robust framework for in vivo NK cell immunotherapy.

BRD4 Inhibition Mitigates Acute and Chronic Corneal Injury Following Topical Nitrogen Mustard Exposure

Lu and colleagues identify BRD4 as a central epigenetic driver of vesicant-induced corneal injury. Using reproducible mouse and rabbit models, they show that short-term topical BRD4 inhibition suppresses acute inflammation and provides durable protection of corneal clarity, stromal organization, endothelial integrity, and neovascularization, supporting translational therapy for chemical eye injuries.

Targeting of the oncogenic fusion EWSR1-FLI1 in Ewing Sarcoma by CRISPR/dCas9 silencers

Blancafort and colleagues describe a non-viral polymeric system for the delivery of dCas9-KRAB silencers as ribonucleoprotein (RNP) payloads for EWSR1-FLI1 repression. They demonstrate highly efficient RNP delivery and robust silencing of EWSR1-FLI1 in both cell line and patient-derived xenografts of Ewing sarcoma, accompanied by potent anti-tumor effects.

Rational and computation-assisted engineering of a compact and efficient CRISPR–Cas12f genome editor

Structure-guided design combined with protein language model-guided engineering and sgRNA optimization enables the development of a compact and highly efficient CRISPR–Cas12f genome editor. This integrated strategy substantially improves genome-editing activity while preserving high specificity, expanding the therapeutic potential of compact CRISPR systems.

MITF-SCD1 Lipid Metabolic Axis Prevents Ouabain-Induced Spiral Ganglion Neuron Ferroptosis and Hearing Loss

Ouabain triggers cochlear spiral ganglion neuron (SGN) ferroptosis and hearing loss via SCD1 downregulation. MITF directly activates Scd1 transcription, and the MITF–SCD1 axis mitigates SGN ferroptosis and hearing impairment in ototoxic ouabain and cisplatin models, revealing a lipid metabolic vulnerability and therapeutic target for sensorineural hearing loss.

DC vaccine loaded with Bacteroides fragilis elicits functional cross-reactivity and enhances anti-PD-1 immunotherapy

Liu and colleagues develop a dendritic cell vaccine loaded with the gut commensals Bacteroides fragilis (DC-Bf), which triggers CD8+ T cell-dependent antitumor immune responses via MHC-I-mediated cross-presentation and interleukin-12 secretion, and enhances the efficacy of PD-1 antibody by improving the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment and diversifying the T cell receptor repertoire.

Viral gene replication enhances AAV vector quality and reduces manufacturing costs

Liu and colleagues developed a robust in cellulo plasmid DNA replication system in human cells for replicating plasmid-borne adeno-associated virus (AAV) Rep/Cap genes during recombinant AAV (rAAV) production. This new approach not only enables a 10- to 20-fold plasmid reduction to significantly lower manufacturing costs but also substantially enhances rAAV potency, titer, and purity.

Lineage-specific pulmonary transcriptome landscape of coronavirus infection unveils universal immunotherapy for viral pneumonia

In the infection courses of different SARS-CoV-2 variants, disease outcomes and signatures were delineated by physiological changes, viral load, pathology, and pulmonary transcriptome analysis. This multi-dimensional landscape of disease outcomes and underlying mechanisms might provide important clues for immunotherapy of SARS-CoV-2 infection and pneumonia caused by other respiratory viruses.

Sequence and structural determinants of efficacious de novo chimaeric antigen receptors

Nature Biomedical Engineering, Published online: 09 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41551-026-01790-9

A generative protein design workflow addresses important challenges with de novo protein engineering of chimaeric antigen receptors (CARs) to improve targeting of proteins important in cancer and create more effective CAR T therapies.

Charge-switching ionizable lipids lower the toxicity of lipid nanoparticles

Nature Nanotechnology, Published online: 08 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41565-026-02262-6

Charge-switching S-lipids generate S-lipid nanoparticles that are neutral or negative at physiological pH but become cationic in acidic endosomes, enabling nucleic acid delivery with reduced inflammation compared with conventional LNPs.

Switchable single-atom catalysts for highly selective C–C coupling in direct methane oxidation

Nature Nanotechnology, Published online: 07 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41565-026-02271-5

Single copper atoms on boron nanosheets dynamically and reversibly switch to clusters, enabling the direct conversion of methane to acetic acid with 97% selectivity and high activity without the requirement for carbon monoxide.
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