Respiratory viruses such as Influenza A Virus (IAV) and SARS-CoV-2 trigger excessive inflammation, often leading to severe pathology. Neutrophils, key early responders in the immune system, produce reactive oxygen species (ROS) via NADPH oxidase (Nox2), balancing pathogen clearance and immune regulation. Our study explores how neutrophil Nox2-derived ROS curtails inflammatory circuits involving IL-1β and IL-17A, thus promoting effective viral clearance without exacerbating inflammation. We used neutrophil-specific Nox2 knockout mice in an IAV model to demonstrate that Nox2-derived ROS suppress neutrophil-driven IL-1β production, which in turn limits IL-17A-producing γδ T cells. In the absence of Nox2, increased IL-1β production creates a self-amplifying loop with IL-17A, which impairs the antiviral interferon response, heightens lung inflammation, and delays viral clearance. These findings were extended to human neutrophils exposed to virus analogs and SARS-CoV-2, where Nox2-mediated ROS similarly regulated IL-1β and IL-17A signaling. This study reveals a dual role for ROS: while traditionally associated with oxidative damage, Nox2-derived ROS act as immune modulators, balancing inflammatory responses and enhancing pathogen clearance. These insights suggest that therapeutic strategies aimed at modulating ROS levels could improve outcomes in viral infections by enhancing antiviral immunity while preventing inflammatory damage.

To study the systematic structural and functional studies of thymic involution in the elderly, we established a cohort of body donors aged at the time of death from 57-105 years. The anatomical evaluations consisted of thymic size and weight measurements and aligning them with the cause of death, sex, age, and BMI; the structural investigation involved histology and immunohistochemistry, and functional studies employed RT-qPCR to evaluate the expression of FoxN1 mRNA by the thymic epithelium (TEC). The thymic anatomy was not associated with developing certain diseases in the elderly population. Still, the body weight may have significantly affected the thymic anatomy in this age group, as elevated BMI correlated with increased thymic weight. The histology data enabled categorization of the thymic involution as T1-T6, with T1- thymus being TEC⁽⁺⁺⁺⁾/CD3⁽⁺⁺⁺⁾/Adipose^(-) and T6-thymus being TEC^(-)/CD3^(-)/Adipose⁽⁺⁺⁺⁾. We determined that thymic aging could progress asymmetrically. Such as, the structure and function of the organ were preserved in one thymic lobe, whereas the other thymic lobe underwent involution. We found the expression FoxN1 mRNA in thymi qualified as T1-T3 but not in thymi classified as T4-T6. Detection of the FoxN1 mRNA provided a proof-of-concept that the individuals whose thymi were classified as T1-T3 could still have a functional thymus at the time of death.

Plant virus nanoparticles (VNPs) are efficacious, safe, biodegradable and inexpensive to produce. Recently, plant virus nanoparticles have been utilized as agents in cancer immunotherapy.  Since the tumor microenvironment often results in self-antigen tolerance, VLPs can deliver and display self-antigens as well as otherwise weakly immunogenic antigens. Some of the highly immunogenic VLPs elicit innate immune activity, and then initiate adaptive immunity in tumor microenvironments. Plant viral VLPs are inherently stable, and capable of being mass-produced as well as being modified with antigens and drugs, therefore providing  an attractive option for eliciting anti-tumor immunity. The following talk explores the use of plant viruses innovative tools for cancer immunotherapy.

The use of monoclonal antibodies represents an important and efficient diagnostic and therapeutic tool in disease management and modern science but remains limited by several factors including the uneven distribution in diseased tissues as well as undesired activation of side immune reactions. Major scientific advancements including Recombinant DNA Technology, Hybridoma Technology, and Polymerase Chain Reaction have considerably impacted the use of monoclonal antibodies providing technical and effective solutions to overcome the shortcomings encountered with conventional antibodies. Initially, the introduction of antibody fragments allowed a more uniform and deeper penetration of the targeted tissue and reduced unwanted activation of Fc-mediated immune reactions. On another level, the immunogenicity of murine-derived antibodies was overcome by humanizing their encoding genes with specific sequences of human origin andtransgenic mice able to synthesize fully human antibodies were successfully created. Moreover, the advancement of genetic engineering techniques supported by the modular structure of antibody coding genes paved the way for the development of a new generation of antibody fragments with a wide spectrum of monospecific and bispecific agents. These later could be monovalent, bivalent, or multivalent, and either expressed as a single chain, assembled in multimeric forms or stringed in tandem. This has conferred improved affinity, stability, and solubility to antibody targetting. Lately, a new array of monoclonal antibody fragments was introduced with the engineering of nanobody and antibody mimetics as non-immunoglobulin-derived fragments with promising diagnostic and therapeutic applications. In this review, we decipher the molecular basis of monoclonal antibody engineering with a detailed screening of the antibody derivatives that provides new perspectives to expand the use of monoclonal fragments into previously unexplored fields.