We are recruiting a PhD student in ML/AI methods and biomedical applications, within @ELLISforEurope & @humancellatlas. Keywords: Perturbation modeling, generative AI, synthetic biology, cancer immunotherapy, precision medicine. Great environment in Vienna. medical-epigenomics.org/files/PhD_St...
Ready for an expedition into the unknown? We are recruiting two postdocs through the CeMM Postdoc Program. Our group combines ML/AI in bioinformatics, CRISPR & single-cell technology development, and biomedical applications in cancer & immunity. Details: www.cemm.at/fileadmin/us...
Thanks Nature Immunology for highlighting our paper with a Research Briefing, explaining the broader relevance with a bit of backstory and quotes from a reviewer and the editor. The paper is open access, but the Research Briefing is not – please use the following link for free access: rdcu.be/dGnH0
Nature Immunology - Homeostatic immune cells remain perpetually vigilant against pathogens. We found that baseline JAK–STAT signaling supports the characteristic transcriptional and...
📖 Full story at Nature Immunology: www.nature.com/articles/s41...@nikfortelny.bsky.social@mfarlik.bsky.social)
🚦In summary, our data extend the decades-old idea of “tonic” low-level immune signaling and show that JAK-STAT at homeostasis has different roles & effects compared to its role in active immune response. Our study highlights the importance of immune signaling in homeostatic cells.
🛑 When we took immune cells out of their in vivo tissue context, depriving them of their environmental stimuli, we observed changes that mirror the effect of JAK-STAT mutants. We thus conclude that stimulation from the tissue environment orchestrates homeostatic JAK-STAT signaling.
🪄 For example, STAT2 & IRF9 control many genes in homeostasis independent of STAT1 and the ISGF3 complex. These STAT2 & IRF9 regulated genes are distinct from their classical target genes in response to immune stimulation and highlight different regulatory processes in homeostasis.
🔬 Integrative analysis of this large dataset uncovered low-level expression of various JAK–STAT target genes in homeostatic immune cells from wildtype mice, which was abrogated in the JAK–STAT mutants. The altered transcription patterns were highly specific to each JAK-STAT mutant.
🗺️ Building on the work of the Vienna JAK-STAT consortium (jak-stat.at) and the wider JAK-STAT community, we obtained 12 JAK-STAT mutant mouse models, sorted T cells & macrophages from the spleen of unperturbed mice, and analyzed their epigenome & transcriptome profiles.
💡As the “stat” part of the name suggests, JAK-STAT signaling is mainly studied as a mediator of fast immune responses triggered by external events. But perhaps JAK-STAT signaling indeed has two faces (like Janus). We suspected it may also be important for unperturbed immune cells.
