Jonathan Kagan
@jkagan1.bsky.social
Scientist at Boston Children's Hospital, Professor at Harvard Medical School, Husband, Father
Who wants to discuss innate immunity and host defense?
Join us in Banff to share your exciting research.
www.keystonesymposia.org/conferences/...
Join us in Banff to share your exciting research.
www.keystonesymposia.org/conferences/...
Innate Immunity: Diversity in Host Defense and Disease | Keystone Symposia
Join us at the Keystone Symposia on Innate Immunity: Diversity in Host Defense and Disease, March 2026, in Banff, with field leaders!
www.keystonesymposia.org
November 11, 2025 at 2:55 PM
Who wants to discuss innate immunity and host defense?
Join us in Banff to share your exciting research.
www.keystonesymposia.org/conferences/...
Join us in Banff to share your exciting research.
www.keystonesymposia.org/conferences/...
Reposted by Jonathan Kagan
#ToPrimeOrNotToPrime, this is the question! Excited for our new review @cp-trendsimmuno.bsky.social with @oceanedufies.bsky.social in which we discuss what is “priming” for the #NLRP3 #inflammasome & how we can harness this knowledge to better control human diseases! #InflammasomePower! #Free 👇👇👇
ScienceDirect.com | Science, health and medical journals, full text articles and books.
authors.elsevier.com
November 10, 2025 at 5:26 PM
#ToPrimeOrNotToPrime, this is the question! Excited for our new review @cp-trendsimmuno.bsky.social with @oceanedufies.bsky.social in which we discuss what is “priming” for the #NLRP3 #inflammasome & how we can harness this knowledge to better control human diseases! #InflammasomePower! #Free 👇👇👇
Evidence continues to accumulate that mRNA can deliver immunostimulatory innate proteins.
www.pnas.org/doi/suppl/10...
www.pnas.org/doi/suppl/10...
November 4, 2025 at 3:31 PM
Evidence continues to accumulate that mRNA can deliver immunostimulatory innate proteins.
www.pnas.org/doi/suppl/10...
www.pnas.org/doi/suppl/10...
The first conference on the Cancer-Immunity Cycle has been a hit. This impactful event has showcased the potential of the immune system as a drug target, and highlighted all that we still need to learn.
@cellpress.bsky.social
www.cell-symposia.com/cancer-immun...
@cellpress.bsky.social
www.cell-symposia.com/cancer-immun...
November 4, 2025 at 11:37 AM
The first conference on the Cancer-Immunity Cycle has been a hit. This impactful event has showcased the potential of the immune system as a drug target, and highlighted all that we still need to learn.
@cellpress.bsky.social
www.cell-symposia.com/cancer-immun...
@cellpress.bsky.social
www.cell-symposia.com/cancer-immun...
An authoritative review on phagosome immunobiology by David Underhill and Kai Li. Highly recommend for anyone interested in innate immunity, antigen presentation, infection and host defense.
@cedarssinai.bsky.social
rdcu.be/eNIFY
@cedarssinai.bsky.social
rdcu.be/eNIFY
Phagocytosis: a process that shapes immune responses to engulfed meals
Nature Reviews Immunology - In this Review, Li and Underhill discuss recent advances in understanding the process of phagocytosis. The authors highlight how phagocytosis is integral for innate...
rdcu.be
October 31, 2025 at 7:22 PM
An authoritative review on phagosome immunobiology by David Underhill and Kai Li. Highly recommend for anyone interested in innate immunity, antigen presentation, infection and host defense.
@cedarssinai.bsky.social
rdcu.be/eNIFY
@cedarssinai.bsky.social
rdcu.be/eNIFY
Reposted by Jonathan Kagan
#FirstLove! Donner &co show @jaccjournals.bsky.social that after myocardial infarction, #CD14 blockade rewires immune response of infiltrating monocytes & macrophages, blocking detrimental inflammation & leaving unaltered their repair functions! #MasterRegulator www.jacc.org/doi/epdf/10....
October 24, 2025 at 11:04 AM
#FirstLove! Donner &co show @jaccjournals.bsky.social that after myocardial infarction, #CD14 blockade rewires immune response of infiltrating monocytes & macrophages, blocking detrimental inflammation & leaving unaltered their repair functions! #MasterRegulator www.jacc.org/doi/epdf/10....
Reposted by Jonathan Kagan
#EveryCellIsAnImmuneCell! Luchetti @rauchlab.bksy.social Dixit &co show @nature.com that enteropathogenic bacteria evolved a virulence factor that degrades non-canonical #inflammasome & targets ROCKs necessary for luminal extrusion of infected intestinal #epithelial cells, favoring bacterial growth!
Enteropathogenic bacteria evade ROCK-driven epithelial cell extrusion - Nature
The bacterial ubiquitin ligase NleL evades host defence mechanisms both by inhibiting pyroptosis and by preventing infected intestinal epithelial cells from being extruded into the lumen and expelled ...
doi.org
October 22, 2025 at 9:40 PM
#EveryCellIsAnImmuneCell! Luchetti @rauchlab.bksy.social Dixit &co show @nature.com that enteropathogenic bacteria evolved a virulence factor that degrades non-canonical #inflammasome & targets ROCKs necessary for luminal extrusion of infected intestinal #epithelial cells, favoring bacterial growth!
Reposted by Jonathan Kagan
Very excited for Jeannette Tenthorey! @packardfdn.bsky.social @ucsfhealth.bsky.social
Jeannette Tenthorey • The David and Lucile Packard Foundation
A staggering 8% of the human genome derives from endogenous retroviruses, ancient evolutionary fossils that have been dismissed as vestiges. Yet recent work has revealed that some of these viral genes...
www.packard.org
October 16, 2025 at 1:47 AM
Very excited for Jeannette Tenthorey! @packardfdn.bsky.social @ucsfhealth.bsky.social
Reposted by Jonathan Kagan
Now that I am no longer dealing with an infant with an infection (non-staphylococcal), time for a proper 🧵! If you’re interested in some combination of Staphylococcus aureus, innate immune sensing of bacteria, inflammasomes, and cell wall modifications, read on…
September 29, 2025 at 2:32 AM
Now that I am no longer dealing with an infant with an infection (non-staphylococcal), time for a proper 🧵! If you’re interested in some combination of Staphylococcus aureus, innate immune sensing of bacteria, inflammasomes, and cell wall modifications, read on…
Reposted by Jonathan Kagan
Thrilled to share my work from the @jkagan1.bsky.social lab!
TLDR: O-acetylation and wall teichoic acid compete for space on S. aureus peptidoglycan. This competition regulates DNA release, and thus immune receptor activation, during infection!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
#microsky #immunosky
TLDR: O-acetylation and wall teichoic acid compete for space on S. aureus peptidoglycan. This competition regulates DNA release, and thus immune receptor activation, during infection!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
#microsky #immunosky
Wall teichoic acid is required for DNA-triggered innate immune receptor activation by Staphylococcus aureus
Receptors that stimulate inflammation are commonly activated by ligands that are buried within microbial cells. The mechanisms that facilitate immunostimulatory ligand release from microbes during inf...
www.biorxiv.org
September 26, 2025 at 11:31 AM
Thrilled to share my work from the @jkagan1.bsky.social lab!
TLDR: O-acetylation and wall teichoic acid compete for space on S. aureus peptidoglycan. This competition regulates DNA release, and thus immune receptor activation, during infection!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
#microsky #immunosky
TLDR: O-acetylation and wall teichoic acid compete for space on S. aureus peptidoglycan. This competition regulates DNA release, and thus immune receptor activation, during infection!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
#microsky #immunosky
meta-PAMPs: A new class of immunostimulatory molecules that control the ability of bacterial factors to operate as PAMPs. Jordan Jastrab reveals that wall teichoic acid (WTA) is a key regulator of inflammasomes and interferons during infection.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Wall teichoic acid is required for DNA-triggered innate immune receptor activation by Staphylococcus aureus
Receptors that stimulate inflammation are commonly activated by ligands that are buried within microbial cells. The mechanisms that facilitate immunostimulatory ligand release from microbes during inf...
www.biorxiv.org
September 26, 2025 at 2:02 PM
meta-PAMPs: A new class of immunostimulatory molecules that control the ability of bacterial factors to operate as PAMPs. Jordan Jastrab reveals that wall teichoic acid (WTA) is a key regulator of inflammasomes and interferons during infection.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Jonathan Kagan
Abstract submissions are open for the Midwinter Conference of Immunologists @midwinter-immun.bsky.social!! www.midwconfimmunol.org The Early Bird Registration deadline is Nov 14, 2025.
There will be lots of Selected Abstract talks so submit an abstract to be considered!
There will be lots of Selected Abstract talks so submit an abstract to be considered!
Midwinter Conference of Immunologists
The Midwinter Conference of Immunologists was founded in 1961 by a small group of Immunologists, among them Drs. Dan Campbell and Ray Owen. The goal of the Midwinter Conference is to provide a forum w...
www.midwconfimmunol.org
September 22, 2025 at 1:12 PM
Abstract submissions are open for the Midwinter Conference of Immunologists @midwinter-immun.bsky.social!! www.midwconfimmunol.org The Early Bird Registration deadline is Nov 14, 2025.
There will be lots of Selected Abstract talks so submit an abstract to be considered!
There will be lots of Selected Abstract talks so submit an abstract to be considered!
TLR4 endocytosis continues to be the centerpiece of TRIF-Interferon signaling. Kasper et al report diverse structures of Bacteroides LPS and their impact on TLR4 endocytosis and signaling. Functional consequences on Treg induction in the gut.
www.cell.com/cell/abstrac...
www.cell.com/cell/abstrac...
Structure of gut microbial glycolipid modulates host inflammatory response
Structural variations in the number of acyl chains and phosphate groups of gram-negative
microbial lipid A differentially modulate DC-derived IFN-β responses, which are mechanistically
regulated by TL...
www.cell.com
September 19, 2025 at 12:44 PM
TLR4 endocytosis continues to be the centerpiece of TRIF-Interferon signaling. Kasper et al report diverse structures of Bacteroides LPS and their impact on TLR4 endocytosis and signaling. Functional consequences on Treg induction in the gut.
www.cell.com/cell/abstrac...
www.cell.com/cell/abstrac...
What is cell death?
Honored to participate in this article where the question was posed to a dozen experts.
Thanks to the fantastic team at Nature Structural & Molecular Biology for organizing this discussion.
rdcu.be/eG1Nm
Honored to participate in this article where the question was posed to a dozen experts.
Thanks to the fantastic team at Nature Structural & Molecular Biology for organizing this discussion.
rdcu.be/eG1Nm
Towards a molecular and structural definition of cell death
Nature Structural & Molecular Biology - Cell death contributes to tissue homeostasis and plays critical roles in inflammation and host defense. Our increasing understanding of the physiological...
rdcu.be
September 18, 2025 at 10:47 AM
What is cell death?
Honored to participate in this article where the question was posed to a dozen experts.
Thanks to the fantastic team at Nature Structural & Molecular Biology for organizing this discussion.
rdcu.be/eG1Nm
Honored to participate in this article where the question was posed to a dozen experts.
Thanks to the fantastic team at Nature Structural & Molecular Biology for organizing this discussion.
rdcu.be/eG1Nm
Reposted by Jonathan Kagan
More than a decade ago, I started making tutorial videos on how to use Adobe illustrator, targeted at scientists that needed to make figures and cartoons for talks or papers.
Now I'm getting started again, but this time with the free and open source vector editor Inkscape 🧪
youtu.be/E7n6SDni28Q
Now I'm getting started again, but this time with the free and open source vector editor Inkscape 🧪
youtu.be/E7n6SDni28Q
Inkscape for scientists 1 - simple shapes
YouTube video by Kevin Bonham
youtu.be
September 16, 2025 at 3:50 PM
More than a decade ago, I started making tutorial videos on how to use Adobe illustrator, targeted at scientists that needed to make figures and cartoons for talks or papers.
Now I'm getting started again, but this time with the free and open source vector editor Inkscape 🧪
youtu.be/E7n6SDni28Q
Now I'm getting started again, but this time with the free and open source vector editor Inkscape 🧪
youtu.be/E7n6SDni28Q
Coming early 2026: Conference on Gene Expression & Signaling in the Immune System
A world-class lineup of interesting and interested scientists will convene at the historic Cold Spring Harbor Lab to discuss all things immunology. share.google/m7eZmUxm0TVh...
A world-class lineup of interesting and interested scientists will convene at the historic Cold Spring Harbor Lab to discuss all things immunology. share.google/m7eZmUxm0TVh...
September 12, 2025 at 12:23 PM
Coming early 2026: Conference on Gene Expression & Signaling in the Immune System
A world-class lineup of interesting and interested scientists will convene at the historic Cold Spring Harbor Lab to discuss all things immunology. share.google/m7eZmUxm0TVh...
A world-class lineup of interesting and interested scientists will convene at the historic Cold Spring Harbor Lab to discuss all things immunology. share.google/m7eZmUxm0TVh...
Reposted by Jonathan Kagan
💥 #ImmunometabolismPower! Excited to have this officially out @cp-immunity.bsky.social 💥 We show that pathogens induce the host to produce oxidized lipids which rewire the #metabolism of #macrophages, causing #epigenetic modifications which dampen anti-inflammatory IL-10, exacerbating #inflammation!
Epigenetic silencing of interleukin-10 by host-derived oxidized phospholipids supports a lethal inflammatory response to infections
Phagocytes initiate immunity to invading microorganisms by detecting pathogen-associated molecular patterns via pattern recognition receptors. Pathoge…
www.sciencedirect.com
September 10, 2025 at 2:48 PM
💥 #ImmunometabolismPower! Excited to have this officially out @cp-immunity.bsky.social 💥 We show that pathogens induce the host to produce oxidized lipids which rewire the #metabolism of #macrophages, causing #epigenetic modifications which dampen anti-inflammatory IL-10, exacerbating #inflammation!
An NLRP3 stimulatory universal influenza vaccine.
We report an NLRP3 stimulus that generates hyperactive dendritic cells (hDCs).
journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
We report an NLRP3 stimulus that generates hyperactive dendritic cells (hDCs).
journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
An NLRP3-stimulatory adjuvant improves the immunogenicity of influenza virus vaccines in mice and non-human primates | mBio
The generation of vaccines that stimulate T cell activities is an unmet need for the
scientific community, as T cells are the primary mediators of immune memory. In this
study, we report a new vaccine...
journals.asm.org
September 8, 2025 at 7:19 PM
An NLRP3 stimulatory universal influenza vaccine.
We report an NLRP3 stimulus that generates hyperactive dendritic cells (hDCs).
journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
We report an NLRP3 stimulus that generates hyperactive dendritic cells (hDCs).
journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
Reposted by Jonathan Kagan
Finally officially out in the latest issue of @cp-cell.bsky.social as a #free #featured #LeadingEdge paper: everything you wanted to know about #InterferonPower! ❤️ @danielboehmer.bsky.social @bostonchildrens.bsky.social @harvardmed.bsky.social www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
Interferons in health and disease
The cytokine messenger proteins known as interferons are central to protective immune
responses against infections, but they are also involved in inflammatory and autoimmune
diseases. This review maps...
www.cell.com
September 3, 2025 at 4:55 PM
Finally officially out in the latest issue of @cp-cell.bsky.social as a #free #featured #LeadingEdge paper: everything you wanted to know about #InterferonPower! ❤️ @danielboehmer.bsky.social @bostonchildrens.bsky.social @harvardmed.bsky.social www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
Reposted by Jonathan Kagan
If you've been looking for a big, juicy, up-to-date review on interferons, incorporating the latest understanding about how IFN-lambda fits into the picture... well, here it is!👇 (Thanks to
@lozanzi.bsky.social and @danielboehmer.bsky.social
for writing it!)
@lozanzi.bsky.social and @danielboehmer.bsky.social
for writing it!)
Finally officially out in the latest issue of @cp-cell.bsky.social as a #free #featured #LeadingEdge paper: everything you wanted to know about #InterferonPower! ❤️ @danielboehmer.bsky.social @bostonchildrens.bsky.social @harvardmed.bsky.social www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
Interferons in health and disease
The cytokine messenger proteins known as interferons are central to protective immune
responses against infections, but they are also involved in inflammatory and autoimmune
diseases. This review maps...
www.cell.com
September 3, 2025 at 5:16 PM
If you've been looking for a big, juicy, up-to-date review on interferons, incorporating the latest understanding about how IFN-lambda fits into the picture... well, here it is!👇 (Thanks to
@lozanzi.bsky.social and @danielboehmer.bsky.social
for writing it!)
@lozanzi.bsky.social and @danielboehmer.bsky.social
for writing it!)
Reposted by Jonathan Kagan
Reposted by Jonathan Kagan
So excited that this study is now online! It's been a pleasure to work with BioAge Labs and our collaborators on this story. We characterise a new class of #NLRP3 inhibitors with translational potential for so many inflammatory diseases.
#NLRP3 is a target for antiinflammatory therapies & can be inhibited by the tool compound MCC950. Wilhelmsen, @colllab.bsky.social et al characterize new small-molecule inhibitors, BAL-0028 & BAL-0598, that have a distinct mechanism of action & binding site. rupress.org/jem/article/...
#Inflammasome
#Inflammasome
September 2, 2025 at 4:22 PM
So excited that this study is now online! It's been a pleasure to work with BioAge Labs and our collaborators on this story. We characterise a new class of #NLRP3 inhibitors with translational potential for so many inflammatory diseases.
Increasing evidence that innate immune pattern recognition receptors do not sense productive infections.
DeRisi lab finds that RSV does not induce IFNs in productively infected cells. Only bystander/non-productively infected cells produce IFNs.
journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
DeRisi lab finds that RSV does not induce IFNs in productively infected cells. Only bystander/non-productively infected cells produce IFNs.
journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
Defining the host dependencies and the transcriptional landscape of RSV infection | mBio
Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a leading cause of lower respiratory tract infection
in infants and the elderly. Despite its substantial global health burden, RSV-targeted
treatments remain unava...
journals.asm.org
August 26, 2025 at 2:25 PM
Increasing evidence that innate immune pattern recognition receptors do not sense productive infections.
DeRisi lab finds that RSV does not induce IFNs in productively infected cells. Only bystander/non-productively infected cells produce IFNs.
journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
DeRisi lab finds that RSV does not induce IFNs in productively infected cells. Only bystander/non-productively infected cells produce IFNs.
journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
Reposted by Jonathan Kagan
Gianna Hammer & I are thrilled to co-Chair the 64th @midwinter-immun.bsky.social Conference of Immunologists Jan. 24-27, 2026. Join us & an amazing lineup of speakers including Carla Rothlin as Dan Campbell memorial lecturer for some exciting science in lovely Asilomar, CA!
www.midwconfimmunol.org
www.midwconfimmunol.org
Midwinter Conference of Immunologists
The Midwinter Conference of Immunologists was founded in 1961 by a small group of Immunologists, among them Drs. Dan Campbell and Ray Owen. The goal of the Midwinter Conference is to provide a forum w...
www.midwconfimmunol.org
August 25, 2025 at 5:01 PM
Gianna Hammer & I are thrilled to co-Chair the 64th @midwinter-immun.bsky.social Conference of Immunologists Jan. 24-27, 2026. Join us & an amazing lineup of speakers including Carla Rothlin as Dan Campbell memorial lecturer for some exciting science in lovely Asilomar, CA!
www.midwconfimmunol.org
www.midwconfimmunol.org
