Courtney A. Becker

TL;DR: It is shown that the mammalian gut contains a rich fungal community that interacts with the immune system through the innate immune receptor Dectin-1, which substantially expands the repertoire of organisms interacting with the intestinal immune system to influence health and disease.

TL;DR: The ‘phagocytic synapse’ now provides a model mechanism by which innate immune receptors can distinguish direct microbial contact from detection of microbes at a distance, thereby initiating direct cellular antimicrobial responses only when they are required.

TL;DR: This study shows that a metabolic enzyme can act as a pattern recognition receptor and is caused by release of N-acetylglucosamine that is detected in the cytosol by the glycolytic enzyme hexokinase.

TL;DR: It is demonstrated that phagocytosis and lysozyme-based cell wall degradation of S. aureus are functionally coupled to inflammasome activation and IL-1beta secretion and a case whereby a bacterium specifically subverts IL- 1beta secretion through chemical modification of its cell wall PGN is illustrated.

TL;DR: Dectin-1 signaling in macrophages and bone marrow-derived dendritic cells triggers formation of LC3II, a major component of the autophagy machinery that facilitates recruitment of MHC class II molecules to phagosomes and promotes presentation of fungal-derived antigens to CD4 T cells.