To our knowledge, this study provides the first comprehensive, country-wide evidence of a sustained decline in Buruli ulcer incidence in Africa. Environmental changes, particularly climate warming and...

Amoeboid cell migration is key to efficient T cell immunity. Spatial polarization of organelles within cells, including endo-lysosomes, is a prerequisite of migration. However, how ultrastructural polarization is linked to the signaling requirements governing T cell migration remains unknown. Here we show that signaling molecules generated by endo-lysosome-localized kinases regulate velocity of amoeboid migration. Specifically, imaging of T cells identifies accumulation of endo-lysosomes decorated with the lipid kinases VPS34–PIKfyve at the uropod of polarized cells. Activity of VPS34 and PIKfyve regulates speed, but not directedness, of migrating T cells. Mechanistically, PI(3,5)P2 generated by the sequential action of VPS34 and PIKfyve, mediates Ca2+ efflux from lysosomes via the mucolipin TRP cation channel 1 (TRPML1), thus controlling activity of myosin IIA and hence the generation of propulsive force through retrograde actin flow. The VPS34–PIKfyve kinases also regulate velocity of myeloid cells, as well as of the amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum – establishing the axis as an evolutionarily conserved speed control system of amoeboid cell migration.

The GPR84 orphan receptor is a regulator of inflammation and a candidate therapeutic target in Buruli ulcer.

Tuberculosis (TB), caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis(Mtb), remains a significant global health burden, further exacerbated by the emergence of anti…

The amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum (Dd) is a commonly used model for studying bacterial infection due to the high conservat...

Here, the authors report metabolic activation as a potential antimicrobial strategy against Mycobacterium tuberculosis. They show that supra-physiological activation of L-histidine biosynthesis r...

Lennartz et al. introduce a correlative light and electron microscopy workflow, Lipid-CLEM, combining near-native lipid probes and on-section labelling via click chemistry. Lipid-CLEM quantitatively a...

Here, the authors show that Mycobacterium tuberculosis manipulates lipid metabolism to overcome host restriction, by remodelling its lipidome and utilising host lipids as an alternative phosphate sour...

Using molecules called AbLecs that block an immune checkpoint, researchers showed they could stimulate a strong anti-tumor immune response. The approach, which could work for many types of cancer, was...

CRISPRI-mediated gene silencing and phenotypic exploration in nontuberculous mycobacteria. In this Research Protocol, we describe approaches to control, monitor, and quantitatively assess CRISPRI-med...

Redundancy in biology is, at a glance, counterintuitive because if the function of two gene products completely overlaps then, throughout the course of evolution, one of the genes will likely accumula...

The emergence of cell compartmentalization depends on membrane fission to create the endomembrane compartments. In eukaryotes, membrane fission is commonly executed by ESCRT-III, a protein complex con...

Various vibrios can colonise a large vacuole called VCV (Vibrio-containing-vacuole) within Paramoeba atlantica. The VCVs acidify and the vibrios multiply and remain alive inside the VCVs for hours. T....

Bacteria have a simple yet potent mechanism that controls their sensitivity to environmental stimuli. A new study by researchers at the Univer...

This study sheds light into the complex process of intracellular lipid accumulation and storage in the survival and persistence of pathogenic mycobacteria, which is of clinical relevance. By identifying the proteins involved in the formation of ...