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@thexavierlab.bsky.social
140 followers 26 following 34 posts
Genes to functions. Microbiome in health & disease. Computational biology. Chemical biology. Innate & adaptive immunity.

http://broadinstitute.org/xavier-lab
https://molbio.massgeneral.org/faculty/343
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Solute carrier (SLC) transporters are implicated in many human diseases. In @jclinicalinvest, we show that efavirenz potentiates metal transporter SLC39A8 via a cryptic allosteric pocket—revealing new potential for therapeutic targeting.

www.jci.org/articles/vie...
JCI - Allosteric modulation of the solute carrier transporter SLC39A8 potentiates manganese and cadmium uptake
www.jci.org
November 4, 2025 at 8:52 PM
Reposted
jem.org
In Nov issue: rupress.org/jem/issue/22...
@thexavierlab.bsky.social describe the biological function of Ankrd55 in mice, working as a functional modulator of T cell metabolism impacting Th17 responses. Cover shows a colon section of a mouse that received Ankrd55−/− T cells doi.org/10.1084/jem....
November 3, 2025 at 3:04 PM
Congrats to Jinjin Xu & co-authors – an image from their recent @jem.org article that describes Ankrd55 as a modulator of T cell metabolism impacting Th17 responses was selected for the cover!

Read the study here: rupress.org/jem/article-...

@broadinstitute.org @mgbresearch.bsky.social
November 4, 2025 at 2:47 PM
Great summary from the @mgbresearch.bsky.social team on our new Science paper about ENS–immune system interactions! Check it out: www.massgeneralbrigham.org/en/about/new...
Research Spotlight: Mapping How Gut Neurons Respond to Bacteria, Parasites and Food Allergy | Mass General Brigham
The enteric nervous system is a vast network of nerves built into the walls of the intestine. A new study adds to accumulating evidence showing that the ENS works closely with the immune system to hel...
www.massgeneralbrigham.org
October 31, 2025 at 2:07 PM
Check out our new study in @ScienceMagazine! Using single-cell transcriptomics, we profile enteric nervous system responses to the microbiota and inflammation, identifying regulators of motor #neuron states and #gut transit time.

www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Regional encoding of enteric nervous system responses to microbiota and type 2 inflammation
Enteric neurons are essential regulators of intestinal physiology, yet their responses to varying microbial and immune environments along the intestinal tract and or during challenges remain poorly un...
www.science.org
October 30, 2025 at 8:34 PM
Excited to share new work in @NatureMicrobio! Using metagenomics, we show how #HIV infection and treatment shape the gut microbiome across geographic regions & find ART-induced phageome changes linked to inflammation and atherosclerosis.

www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Human immunodeficiency virus and antiretroviral therapies exert distinct influences across diverse gut microbiomes - Nature Microbiology
Metagenomic analysis of the gut microbiome of people with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), from three distinct cohorts, revealed infection- and antiretroviral drug-linked alterations, which may con...
www.nature.com
October 30, 2025 at 4:18 PM
🔦 Spotlight! The Korean Association of Immuologists International 2025 is convening Oct 30th-Nov 1st in Incheon, South Korea. KAI 2025 will address current topics in immunology, encompassing both fundamental research and its application to immunological diseases.

kai2025.kr
October 28, 2025 at 8:33 PM
In his “Harvard Medical School 2025 State of the School Address”, Dean George Daley highlighted our collaboration with the Clardy lab studying the connection between the gut microbiome and depression @harvardmed.bsky.social @broadinstitute.org

#vimeo #microbiome #depression #gut
Harvard Medical School 2025 State of the School Address
In the 2025 State of the School Address, Dean George Q. Daley described the challenges and opportunities ahead for Harvard Medical School and academic research.
vimeo.com
September 25, 2025 at 6:31 PM
The @genelayinstitute.bsky.social
is excited to host its third #ReThinkNeuroimmunology meeting from October 14-16th, 2025. This year will focus on discussing major discoveries & breakthroughs in neuroimmunology, single cell genomics, immunology, & neuroscience.

genelayinstitute.org/rtn/
September 23, 2025 at 2:37 PM
Our latest effort to translate genetic risk variants to disease mechanisms revealed that the R448G missense mutation in nuclear receptor coregulator NRIP1 promotes tissue inflammation via inefficient repression of a retinoic acid-mediated T cell gut-homing program. www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
PNAS
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), a peer reviewed journal of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) - an authoritative source of high-impact, original research that broadly spans...
www.pnas.org
September 18, 2025 at 6:21 PM
ANKRD55 is associated with risk for multiple autoimmune diseases, but without a clear mechanism. In a new @jem.org study, we show that ANKRD55 promotes differentiation of inflammatory T cells via mitochondrial regulation, suggesting a new target for autoimmunity: rupress.org/jem/article-...
Autoimmune disease risk gene ANKRD55 promotes TH17 effector function through metabolic modulation
The ANKRD55 locus has been associated with multiple autoimmune diseases. Using murine models of inflammation, Xu et al. demonstrate an important role of th
rupress.org
September 11, 2025 at 9:11 PM
Reposted
jem.org
Xu, @thexavierlab.bsky.social et al @harvardmed.bsky.social @broadinstitute.org reveal an important role of the ANKRD55 protein in TH17 biology, where its deletion impairs T cell proliferation & effector cytokine production through metabolic dysregulation. rupress.org/jem/article/...

#Autoimmunity
September 11, 2025 at 5:15 PM
NEW in PNAS: Our collaboration w/ the Seyedsayamdost lab, from Princeton University's Dept of Chem, revealed that indole-derived compounds produced by IBD-associated Campylobacter concisus are key modulators of inflammation
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

@broadinstitute.org
@mgbresearch.bsky.social
Elucidating the role of Campylobacter concisus–derived indole metabolites in gut inflammation and immune modulation | PNAS
The gut microbiota plays a pivotal role in maintaining human health with dysbiosis linked to a variety of diseases. Metagenome sequencing and robus...
www.pnas.org
August 27, 2025 at 4:42 PM
For a great example of complex science presented clearly and compellingly, check out this Base by Base PaperCast episode! It covers a recent @finngen.bsky.social n study showing protective effects of CFHR5 loss-of-function against age-related macular degeneration.

Links below 👇
️ 92: Genetic Loss of CFHR5 Function Protects Against Age-Related Macular Degeneration
️ Episode 92: Genetic Loss of CFHR5 Function Protects Against Age-Related Macular Degeneration In this episode of PaperCast Base by Base, we explore a genome‑wide association and fine‑mapping study in...
basebybase.castos.com
August 14, 2025 at 2:05 PM
Online now a multicenter Crohn's Disease study of South Asian patients that explores environmental impacts on #CD, linking geography and immigrant status with disease presentation and serologic markers.

linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii...

#crohnsdisease
Redirecting
linkinghub.elsevier.com
July 21, 2025 at 4:51 PM
Check out our recent work with John Rioux and the iGenoMed Consortium! Serum proteomic and metabolomic profiling in #IBD patients initiating vedolizumab identified pro-inflammatory analytes associated with treatment response.

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
<em>Immunology & Cell Biology</em> | ASI Journal | Wiley Online Library
In this article, we have analyzed the serum proteome and metabolome in inflammatory bowel disease patients being treated with the anti-α4β7 integrin therapeutic agent vedolizumab. The pretreatment bi...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
July 21, 2025 at 4:24 PM
In our latest collab w/the Clardy Lab
@HarvardMed to mine microbial metabolites for immunomodulators, we identified how Eggerthella lent—one of the most studied & least understood members of the human gut microbiome—upregulates inflammatory responses in a cell- & antigen- independent fashion. (1/2)
July 21, 2025 at 4:08 PM
Very excited to share our latest work in @NatureGenet with the Smillie lab: a spatial transcriptomics atlas of stricturing #Crohns disease that offers new insights into mechanisms driving fibrotic complications in chronic gut inflammation...(cont.)
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Single-cell and spatial transcriptomics of stricturing Crohn’s disease highlights a fibrosis-associated network - Nature Genetics
Single-cell and spatial transcriptomics analysis of stricturing Crohn’s disease highlights cellular heterogeneity in fibrotic tissue and identifies neighborhoods of fibroblasts and immune cells contri...
www.nature.com
June 25, 2025 at 2:25 PM
(1/6) Our latest paper in ‪@cp-cellhostmicrobe.bsky.social‬ shows that sphingolipids in Bacteroides outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) induce a tolerogenic host cell response through the cholesterol biosynthesis pathway.
www.cell.com/cell-host-mi...
https://www.cell.com/cell-host-microbe/fulltext/S1931-3128(25)00186-6‬
May 30, 2025 at 8:02 PM
Reposted
labwaggoner.bsky.social
Bacterial sphingolipids delivered by outer membrane vesicles persist within mammalian immune cells and promote IL-10 secretion via the mevalonate pathway
www.cell.com/cell-host-mi...
@thexavierlab.bsky.social @cp-cellhostmicrobe.bsky.social
May 30, 2025 at 3:51 PM
Reposted
kuchroolab.bsky.social
🚨New paper with @thexavierlab.bsky.social @science.org on the critical role of 🔄neuroimmune crosstalk in immune defense in the gut🪱🪱.
🧪@genelayinstitute.bsky.social @mgbresearch.bsky.social @harvardmed.bsky.social @broadinstitute.org
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Type 2 cytokines act on enteric sensory neurons to regulate neuropeptide-driven host defense
Enteric nervous system (ENS)–derived neuropeptides modulate immune cell function, yet our understanding of how inflammatory cues directly influence enteric neuron responses during infection is conside...
www.science.org
May 23, 2025 at 1:26 AM
Out now in @Science! We and the @kuchroolab.bsky.social described responses of enteric neurons to inflammatory cues during infection, showing that primary sensory neurons detect type 2 cytokines, balance neuropeptides, and influence site-specific immunity

www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Type 2 cytokines act on enteric sensory neurons to regulate neuropeptide-driven host defense
Enteric nervous system (ENS)–derived neuropeptides modulate immune cell function, yet our understanding of how inflammatory cues directly influence enteric neuron responses during infection is conside...
www.science.org
May 27, 2025 at 7:12 PM
Dedicating our first Bluesky post to our junior scientists moving on to next exciting steps of their career!

First on our list: huge congrats to Joanna Atwater, one of our amazing clinical research coordinators, on her next big step - pursuing a DMD at @tufts.edu Tufts School of Dental Medicine!
May 16, 2025 at 4:51 PM