Kat Barnett
@katbarnett.bsky.social
Assistant Professor at U Michigan
Innate immunity, cell death, virology
she/her
https://medresearch.umich.edu/labs-departments/labs/Barnett-Lab
Innate immunity, cell death, virology
she/her
https://medresearch.umich.edu/labs-departments/labs/Barnett-Lab
Reposted by Kat Barnett
#InflammasomePower! 💥New paper alert💥 How is NLPR3 primed & activated in chronic non-communicable inflammatory diseases? With @oceanedufies.bsky.social &co we show that chronic exposure to oxPAPC drives NRF2 activation that primes & activates NLRP3 sustaining #atherosclerosis in mice & humans! 👇👇👇
Chronic sensing of host-derived lipids is an all-in-one signal that primes and activates NLRP3.
Activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome leads to the production of bioactive interleukin (IL)-1β fostering atherosclerosis. The current dogma is that NLRP3 must be first primed by microbial stimuli, know...
www.biorxiv.org
October 31, 2025 at 3:49 PM
#InflammasomePower! 💥New paper alert💥 How is NLPR3 primed & activated in chronic non-communicable inflammatory diseases? With @oceanedufies.bsky.social &co we show that chronic exposure to oxPAPC drives NRF2 activation that primes & activates NLRP3 sustaining #atherosclerosis in mice & humans! 👇👇👇
Reposted by Kat Barnett
Check out our new publication, a collaboration with Giovanni Luchetti and Vishva Dixit @ Genentech.
We show that the E.coli effector NleL inhibits intestinal epithelial cell extrusion after #inflammasome activation via degrading the kinases ROCK1 and 2!!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Explainer 1/8
We show that the E.coli effector NleL inhibits intestinal epithelial cell extrusion after #inflammasome activation via degrading the kinases ROCK1 and 2!!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Explainer 1/8
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 ...
www.nature.com
October 22, 2025 at 3:47 PM
Check out our new publication, a collaboration with Giovanni Luchetti and Vishva Dixit @ Genentech.
We show that the E.coli effector NleL inhibits intestinal epithelial cell extrusion after #inflammasome activation via degrading the kinases ROCK1 and 2!!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Explainer 1/8
We show that the E.coli effector NleL inhibits intestinal epithelial cell extrusion after #inflammasome activation via degrading the kinases ROCK1 and 2!!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Explainer 1/8
Reposted by Kat Barnett
It’s #BlackInMicro week! This year’s theme is HARMONY and we have a great program scheduled. You can find more info on our website: blackinmicrobiology.org.
Register for free to check it out. Everyone is welcome! 🦠
Register for free to check it out. Everyone is welcome! 🦠
Welcome to Black In Micro Week! 🎉 Don't miss today's free events - simply click the linktr.ee/BlackInMicro to 1) Register and 2) Login. Everyone is welcome to join! Show your support by donating at tinyurl.com/GiveBiM (all links in bio). #BlackInMicro #BiM2025
October 14, 2025 at 12:42 PM
It’s #BlackInMicro week! This year’s theme is HARMONY and we have a great program scheduled. You can find more info on our website: blackinmicrobiology.org.
Register for free to check it out. Everyone is welcome! 🦠
Register for free to check it out. Everyone is welcome! 🦠
Reposted by Kat Barnett
#DAMPsPower! Balachandran, Yin &co show @nature.com that upon influenza #IAV or herpes #HSV1 virus infection, ZBP1 induces cell death by sensing #host-derived endogenous retroelement Z-RNAs produced in response to virulence factors! www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Client Challenge
www.nature.com
October 13, 2025 at 6:42 PM
#DAMPsPower! Balachandran, Yin &co show @nature.com that upon influenza #IAV or herpes #HSV1 virus infection, ZBP1 induces cell death by sensing #host-derived endogenous retroelement Z-RNAs produced in response to virulence factors! www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Kat Barnett
#LiveForever! Chen, Mao &co show @science.org that not all #cGAS are equals & that naked mole-rats one bears a 4 amino acid mutation which enhances DNA repair & when transferred in aged mice dampens frailty, hair graying, inflammatory & senescence markers! www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
A cGAS-mediated mechanism in naked mole-rats potentiates DNA repair and delays aging
Efficient DNA repair might make possible the longevity of naked mole-rats. However, whether they have distinctive mechanisms to optimize functions of DNA repair suppressors is unclear. We find that na...
www.science.org
October 9, 2025 at 10:49 PM
#LiveForever! Chen, Mao &co show @science.org that not all #cGAS are equals & that naked mole-rats one bears a 4 amino acid mutation which enhances DNA repair & when transferred in aged mice dampens frailty, hair graying, inflammatory & senescence markers! www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Reposted by Kat Barnett
It’s Discovery Research Week! Every day, the bold work of our U-M researchers and scientists points the way to life-changing treatments and cures patients and families need. Visit victors.us/researchsep25 Please consider supporting the work of departments like M&I.
Support Discovery Research Week at Michigan Medicine!
From September 29 to October 5, 2025, we invite you to join us for Discovery Research Week to celebrate and support our scientists and learners who lay the groundwork for the medical breakthroughs of ...
victors.us
October 3, 2025 at 7:39 PM
It’s Discovery Research Week! Every day, the bold work of our U-M researchers and scientists points the way to life-changing treatments and cures patients and families need. Visit victors.us/researchsep25 Please consider supporting the work of departments like M&I.
Reposted by Kat Barnett
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
Reposted by Kat Barnett
The mechanism of STING NF-κB signaling has remained a mystery. An exciting new study from the Paludan lab now uses data throughout animal STING evolution to provide new answers – including isolating white blood cells from turtles and carp!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
STING signals to NF-κB from late endolysosomal compartments using IRF3 as an adaptor - Nature Immunology
Here the authors show how the DNA-sensing cGAS–STING pathway activates NF-κB and inflammatory gene expression with delayed kinetics via post-Golgi endolysosomal signaling.
www.nature.com
September 22, 2025 at 3:39 PM
The mechanism of STING NF-κB signaling has remained a mystery. An exciting new study from the Paludan lab now uses data throughout animal STING evolution to provide new answers – including isolating white blood cells from turtles and carp!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Kat Barnett
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 Kat Barnett
💥 #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!
Reposted by Kat Barnett
The recent cuts to federal mRNA research funding are killing our best chance to cure cancer.
Read my OP-ED on this topic in BioSpace, linked below.
www.biospace.com/drug-develop...
Read my OP-ED on this topic in BioSpace, linked below.
www.biospace.com/drug-develop...
Opinion: Antagonism to mRNA Technology Is Killing Our Best Shot At a Cure For Cancer
The recent announcement of RFK Jr.’s termination of mRNA vaccine contracts is the latest effort to undermine this promising technology at the federal level. Pharmaceutical companies and private invest...
www.biospace.com
August 11, 2025 at 2:54 PM
The recent cuts to federal mRNA research funding are killing our best chance to cure cancer.
Read my OP-ED on this topic in BioSpace, linked below.
www.biospace.com/drug-develop...
Read my OP-ED on this topic in BioSpace, linked below.
www.biospace.com/drug-develop...
Reposted by Kat Barnett
Why does RNA undergo glycosylation? Excited to have our paper out. We in collab w/ Ryan Flynn @raflynn5.bsky.social show N-glycans on glycoRNA hide self-RNA from endosomal TLRs promoting silent removal of dead cells. www.nature.com/articles/s41... @uconnresearch.bsky.social @uconnhealth.bsky.social
August 6, 2025 at 3:39 PM
Why does RNA undergo glycosylation? Excited to have our paper out. We in collab w/ Ryan Flynn @raflynn5.bsky.social show N-glycans on glycoRNA hide self-RNA from endosomal TLRs promoting silent removal of dead cells. www.nature.com/articles/s41... @uconnresearch.bsky.social @uconnhealth.bsky.social
Reposted by Kat Barnett
Sometimes the news is actually worth reading.
"Senate panel rejects Trump cuts to NIH, other health agencies" l.smartnews.com/p-5Vc5EAFi/f...
"Senate panel rejects Trump cuts to NIH, other health agencies" l.smartnews.com/p-5Vc5EAFi/f...
Senate panel rejects Trump cuts to NIH, other health agencies (The Hill)
The Senate Appropriations Committee rejected the Trump administration’s massive proposed funding cut to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), advancing a ...
l.smartnews.com
July 31, 2025 at 11:32 PM
Sometimes the news is actually worth reading.
"Senate panel rejects Trump cuts to NIH, other health agencies" l.smartnews.com/p-5Vc5EAFi/f...
"Senate panel rejects Trump cuts to NIH, other health agencies" l.smartnews.com/p-5Vc5EAFi/f...
Reposted by Kat Barnett
Extra kudos and thanks to all the staff at NIH and NSF and other federal funding agencies for working extra hard in very small windows of opportunity to get grants reviewed and funds released before the attention-addled federal policies change again (on an hourly basis).
July 30, 2025 at 8:41 PM
Extra kudos and thanks to all the staff at NIH and NSF and other federal funding agencies for working extra hard in very small windows of opportunity to get grants reviewed and funds released before the attention-addled federal policies change again (on an hourly basis).
Reposted by Kat Barnett
Everything you wanted to know about oxidized lipids & immunity, in one review. We explain how oxidized lipids impact inflammation, dendritic cells, anti-tumor immunity and more.
Kudos to Joon Choi for his exceptional work.
royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...
Kudos to Joon Choi for his exceptional work.
royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...
Oxidized phospholipid damage signals as modulators of immunity | Open Biology
Damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) are self-derived molecules released during
tissue damage that influence immune responses. Phospholipids, essential to cell membranes
and lung surfactants, ...
royalsocietypublishing.org
July 30, 2025 at 1:28 PM
Everything you wanted to know about oxidized lipids & immunity, in one review. We explain how oxidized lipids impact inflammation, dendritic cells, anti-tumor immunity and more.
Kudos to Joon Choi for his exceptional work.
royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...
Kudos to Joon Choi for his exceptional work.
royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...
Reposted by Kat Barnett
MyD88 cell biology explored in yeast. The fantastic @VictorJCid
and colleagues reveal an unexpected variety of organelles MyD88 can bind in budding yeast.
Kudos to all authors on this exciting finding.
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
and colleagues reveal an unexpected variety of organelles MyD88 can bind in budding yeast.
Kudos to all authors on this exciting finding.
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
MyD88 polymerization and association to cellular membranes in a yeast heterologous model - Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences
MyD88 is a key mediator of Toll-like receptor (TLR) signaling, orchestrating the innate immune response upon stimulation by pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs). Structurally, MyD88 consists...
link.springer.com
July 26, 2025 at 1:27 PM
MyD88 cell biology explored in yeast. The fantastic @VictorJCid
and colleagues reveal an unexpected variety of organelles MyD88 can bind in budding yeast.
Kudos to all authors on this exciting finding.
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
and colleagues reveal an unexpected variety of organelles MyD88 can bind in budding yeast.
Kudos to all authors on this exciting finding.
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Reposted by Kat Barnett
No better time to call or email your members of Congress. Next year’s NIH budget is being debated in the Senate. A new nonpartisan campaign is making it easy to defend science and protect America’s innovation. Just follow this link to contact your representatives: www.protectscienceandinnovation.org
July 22, 2025 at 8:58 PM
No better time to call or email your members of Congress. Next year’s NIH budget is being debated in the Senate. A new nonpartisan campaign is making it easy to defend science and protect America’s innovation. Just follow this link to contact your representatives: www.protectscienceandinnovation.org
Reposted by Kat Barnett
#EpigeneticPower! 💥 #NewPaperAlert! We show @cp-immunity.bsky.social that endogenous oxidized lipids decide whether host survives or dies during #sepsis, #ARDS, or Staph infection! Ox lipids bind & inhibit #AKT, boosting inhibitory H3K27 methylation via EZH2 & blocking #IL10!
Epigenetic silencing of interleukin-10 by host-derived oxidized phospholipids supports a lethal inflammatory response to infections
Upon pathogen detection, phagocytes trigger immunity. This process induces tissue
stress and the formation of host-derived molecules that further tune immune responses.
We show that host-derived oxidi...
dlvr.it
July 17, 2025 at 3:35 PM
#EpigeneticPower! 💥 #NewPaperAlert! We show @cp-immunity.bsky.social that endogenous oxidized lipids decide whether host survives or dies during #sepsis, #ARDS, or Staph infection! Ox lipids bind & inhibit #AKT, boosting inhibitory H3K27 methylation via EZH2 & blocking #IL10!
Reposted by Kat Barnett
A new function for an ancient innate immune stimulus.
Zanoni et al report that oxidized lipids control IL-10 expression, impacting host defense and disease. Kudos to the authors on this important discovery www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Zanoni et al report that oxidized lipids control IL-10 expression, impacting host defense and disease. Kudos to the authors on this important discovery www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
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
July 17, 2025 at 4:44 PM
A new function for an ancient innate immune stimulus.
Zanoni et al report that oxidized lipids control IL-10 expression, impacting host defense and disease. Kudos to the authors on this important discovery www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Zanoni et al report that oxidized lipids control IL-10 expression, impacting host defense and disease. Kudos to the authors on this important discovery www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Reposted by Kat Barnett
#WeekendRead! #NoTimeToDie! #InterferonPower! Wang &co show @cp-molcell.bsky.social that MLKL not only drives #necroptosis but also directly triggers IFNb production by releasing mitochondrial DNA & activating cGAS-#STING, which exacerbates #colitis! www.cell.com/molecular-ce...
MLKL activates the cGAS-STING pathway by releasing mitochondrial DNA upon necroptosis induction
Necroptosis drives inflammation through membrane rupture-mediated DAMPs release. Independently
of membrane damage, Ding et al. revealed phosphorylated MLKL permeabilizes mitochondrial
membranes and in...
www.cell.com
July 19, 2025 at 4:56 PM
#WeekendRead! #NoTimeToDie! #InterferonPower! Wang &co show @cp-molcell.bsky.social that MLKL not only drives #necroptosis but also directly triggers IFNb production by releasing mitochondrial DNA & activating cGAS-#STING, which exacerbates #colitis! www.cell.com/molecular-ce...
Reposted by Kat Barnett
Beyond excited to share our #NewPaper in @cellcellpress.bsky.social! Inflamed environments acidify intracellular #pH. BRD4 senses this via transcriptional condensates, tuning #macrophage responses to match demand and consequences of #inflammation authors.elsevier.com/sd/article/S...
July 22, 2025 at 1:24 PM
Beyond excited to share our #NewPaper in @cellcellpress.bsky.social! Inflamed environments acidify intracellular #pH. BRD4 senses this via transcriptional condensates, tuning #macrophage responses to match demand and consequences of #inflammation authors.elsevier.com/sd/article/S...
Reposted by Kat Barnett
🎉 Over the moon to share the first paper from my lab!! We discovered an unexpected role for the cytokine OSM in lung epithelial homeostasis and repair. 🧵 1/n www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Macrophage-derived oncostatin M repairs the lung epithelial barrier during inflammatory damage
Tissue repair programs must function alongside antiviral immunity to restore the lung epithelial barrier following infection. We found that macrophage-derived oncostatin M (OSM) counteracted the patho...
www.science.org
July 11, 2025 at 1:03 AM
🎉 Over the moon to share the first paper from my lab!! We discovered an unexpected role for the cytokine OSM in lung epithelial homeostasis and repair. 🧵 1/n www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Reposted by Kat Barnett
Please spread the word and apply for the A Oveta Fuller award!
June 26, 2025 at 8:33 PM
Please spread the word and apply for the A Oveta Fuller award!
Reposted by Kat Barnett
Thrilled that our latest paper showing that DCs undergo either pyroptosis or apoptosis upon bacterial blockade of host translation to restrict Legionella is now online at the @asm.org journal mBio! Congrats to 1st author @vvazquez.bsky.social & co-authors! 🎉 journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
Dendritic cells activate pyroptosis and effector-triggered apoptosis to restrict Legionella infection | mBio
The innate immune system senses bacterial pathogens by employing pattern recognition
receptors that detect pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) and guard proteins
that monitor pathogen disru...
journals.asm.org
June 19, 2025 at 3:40 PM
Thrilled that our latest paper showing that DCs undergo either pyroptosis or apoptosis upon bacterial blockade of host translation to restrict Legionella is now online at the @asm.org journal mBio! Congrats to 1st author @vvazquez.bsky.social & co-authors! 🎉 journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
Reposted by Kat Barnett
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Every $1 spent on NIH funding returns nearly $3 to the economy - an almost 200% return on investment💰.
Also 99% of drugs developed 2010-2019 were funded by NIH ‼️🤯
Cutting NIH funding not only hurts the economy but will hurt families and patients 😔💔
Every $1 spent on NIH funding returns nearly $3 to the economy - an almost 200% return on investment💰.
Also 99% of drugs developed 2010-2019 were funded by NIH ‼️🤯
Cutting NIH funding not only hurts the economy but will hurt families and patients 😔💔
NIH indirect cost cuts will affect the economy and employment - Nature Human Behaviour
Nature Human Behaviour - NIH indirect cost cuts will affect the economy and employment
www.nature.com
June 3, 2025 at 12:42 PM
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Every $1 spent on NIH funding returns nearly $3 to the economy - an almost 200% return on investment💰.
Also 99% of drugs developed 2010-2019 were funded by NIH ‼️🤯
Cutting NIH funding not only hurts the economy but will hurt families and patients 😔💔
Every $1 spent on NIH funding returns nearly $3 to the economy - an almost 200% return on investment💰.
Also 99% of drugs developed 2010-2019 were funded by NIH ‼️🤯
Cutting NIH funding not only hurts the economy but will hurt families and patients 😔💔