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Researchers mapped how the plant enzyme FUT11 adds fucose to N-glycans. Microarrays, crystal structures and simulations indicate the enzyme can distort the acceptor sugar during catalysis, informing glycoprotein engineering.

Humanity’s Last Exam, a multi-modal benchmark at the frontier of human knowledge, is designed to be an expert-level closed-ended academic benchmark with broad subject coverage.

Autoantibody production is a hallmark of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Here, the authors demonstrate that antibody-secreting cells from patients with SLE display features of premature maturation and increased survival, which are mediated by intrinsic and extrinsic programmes including autocrine APRIL.

SLE is a heterogeneous disorder that is characterized by different immune endotypes. Faliti et al. follow the immune memory responses upon mRNA COVID-19 vaccinations in a large cohort of patients with SLE. They note that skewed immune responses, such as lower seroconversion and neutralization, might be due to extrafollicular B and T cell biases in SLE endotypes.

Sanz and colleagues examine B cell subsets in a cohort of patients with COVID-19. Severely ill patients have higher frequencies of activated extrafollicular T-bet⁺ B cells that form antibody-secreting cells, the majority of which express germline sequences and are reminiscent of antibody responses observed in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus during flares.

Fucosyltransferases shape glycan structures that regulate development, immunity, and disease. This Review integrates structure, mechanism and biology to explain FUT specificity and highlights therapeutic opportunities for modulating fucosylation.

Post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC) has heterogenous presentation and complex etiology. Here the authors profile peripheral blood of patients with PASC and analyze by machine-learning to identify immune and serology features that allow the stratification of PASC into inflammatory and non-inflammatory types for better diagnosis and therapy-planning.

π-magnetism in graphene systems has been predicted but remains an experimental challenge. Here the authors report the discovery of unpaired electron spins localized in certain sites of graphene nanoribbons, and the measurement of their coupling by inducing singlet-triplet excitations with a scanning tunneling microscope.

Single-cell B cell repertoire analysis identifies the expansion of a naive-derived population of antibody-secreting cells contributing to de novo autoreactivity in patients with severe COVID-19 and those with post-COVID symptoms.

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is characterized by autoantibodies produced by pathogenic B cells. Boss, Sanz and colleagues show that SLE-associated epigenetic changes exist in gene regulatory programs in resting naive B cells, before their differentiation into antibody-producing plasma cells.

Graphene nanoribbons are potential systems for engineering topological phases of matter, but the pre-required gapped phases are difficult to find. Here, the authors show that chiral graphene nanoribbons undergo a transition from metallic to topological insulators, and then to trivial band insulators as they are narrowed down to nanometer widths.

The rapid waning of SARS-CoV-2-specific serum antibodies observed after immunization with COVID-19 mRNA vaccines may be accounted for by the absence of long-lived plasma cells in the bone marrow specific for the virus.

Owing to its short atmospheric life, methane’s contribution to agricultural emissions and climate change may vary substantially depending on the temporal scale considered. Based on projections from three agricultural economic models, this study reveals how different appreciations of methane’s global warming potential may affect the cost-effectiveness of carbon pricing and low-meat diets.

Cellular phenotypic heterogeneity is a key determinant of biological functions and is challenging to identify. A deep learning method that recognizes specific nuclear signatures is discussed, which can identify cellular heterogeneity and differentiate between various cell states using a small amount of super-resolution microscopy data.

Patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) experience flares of autoantibody secretion. Sanz and colleagues track the plasma cell repertoires of patients with SLE and find a sizeable polyclonal contribution by newly activated autoreactive B cells.

WindSled, a zero-emission mobile science platform, is capable of traveling thousands of kilometers and doing valuable science on the Antarctic Plateau. Wind-driven aerosols condition the biogeographic distribution of bioburden from air to 4 m depth.

Long-lived IgG plasma cells develop in germinal centres and then home to the bone marrow and persist for a lifetime. Here the authors identify long-lived IgM plasma cells in the murine spleen, which carry IgH mutations but can develop independently of germinal centres, and confer protective antiviral immunity.

B cells promote the pathogenesis of SLE in a number of ways. In this article, the authors provide an overview of the role of B cells in SLE, review the rationale for targeting these cells and highlight the limitations and challenges of this approach. Current and future agents for globally or selectively targeting B cells in SLE are also outlined.

Small proteins encoded by previously assumed non-coding RNAs can have cell regulatory functions. Here the authors report that TINCR lncRNA encodes pTINCR, a ubiquitin-like protein (UBL) that promotes epithelial differentiation through the SUMOylation and activation of CDC42, and it has tumour suppressor activity in epithelial cancers.

Cancer therapy using systemically administrated 4-1BB-targeting antibodies is often associated with severe toxicity due to the nonspecific activation of autoreactive T cells. Here, the authors have developed a trimeric antibody targeting both 4-1BB and EGFR, which activates T cells effectively and shows negligible cytotoxicity.

A genome-wide association study including over 76,000 individuals with schizophrenia and over 243,000 control individuals identifies common variant associations at 287 genomic loci, and further fine-mapping analyses highlight the importance of genes involved in synaptic processes.

Atypical intraductal proliferation is a prostate biopsy finding with morphological features intermediate between high-grade prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia and intraductal carcinoma. This Review discusses histopathological features, molecular characteristics and clinical outcomes associated with AIP, and highlights the clinical implications of AIP, primarily due to the frequent association of AIP with clinically significant prostate cancer.

Extrafollicular and germinal center reactions are considered to represent sequential phases of a primary B cell response. A study now demonstrates the ability of autocrine IL-12 to promote extrafollicular differentiation into plasmablasts, while inhibiting germinal center responses.

Nanostructured plasmonic substrates are used for in situ, label-free detection, by surface-enhanced resonance Raman scattering spectroscopy, of quorum sensing in growing Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilms.

Whole-brain modelling is an essential tool that provides relevant insights for neuroscientists as they work to discover the fundamental principles of healthy brain function.

Analysis of 2,170 SARS-CoV-2 sequences from the first wave of the COVID-19 epidemic in Spain provides insights into transmission patterns and the effects of lockdown on the emergence of new variants.

After a half-century wait, a new drug has been approved for the treatment of systemic lupus erythematosus. The success of belimumab could bolster the feasibility of B-cell-targeted approaches to treating the disease.

Despite conflicting evidence from clinical trials, rituximab continues to be used off-label in the treatment of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). A new study has now investigated the use of this drug for SLE in Europe, including indications for use and patient characteristics.

Critical technological advances have enabled the rapid investigations into the immune responses elicited by SARS-CoV-2, the pathogen responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic. We discuss the cutting-edge methods used to deconvolve the B-cell responses against this virus and the impact they have had in the ongoing public health crisis.