TGFβ primes alveolar-like macrophages to induce type I IFN following TLR2 activation
Sean M Thomas, Abigail P McGee, Taryn E Vielma, Laurisa M Ankley, Alexander W Rapp, Kayla N Conner, Francois LeSage, Christopher Tanner, Eleanor C Scheeres, Joshua J Obar, Andrew J Olive · 2026
Read TGFβ primes alveolar-like macrophages to induce type I IFN following TLR2 activation by Sean M Thomas, Abigail P McGee, Taryn E Vielma, Laurisa M Ankley, Alexander W Rapp, Kayla N Conner, Francois LeSage, Christopher Tanner, Eleanor C Scheeres, Joshua J Obar, Andrew J Olive (2026) in the Tower of Babel, a free online library of public-domain works preserved in clean, searchable text. No sign-up. The full text is served as a plain-text file at a predictable URL, where text is present: https://antarctic-labs.com/tower-of-babel/pmc-13183718.txt.
Description
Sean Thomas and colleagues study how a growth signal primes lung defense cells, in this paper from twenty twenty-six. The cells are alveolar macrophages, the guards that patrol the air sacs of the lung. A signal called TGF-beta helps these cells form and persist, but its effect on their fight against germs was unclear.
The team used a lab-grown stand-in for these cells, grown from fetal liver cells. With the signal present, resting cells burned fats for energy and kept inflammation low. When a bacterial signal then hit a sensor called TLR2, the primed cells did something no one expected: they released type I interferon, a weapon more often used against viruses. The response needed signals from the cell's power plants, including reactive oxygen. The work shows that one growth signal can reset both fuel use and immune tactics in lung guards.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | Sean M Thomas, Abigail P McGee, Taryn E Vielma, Laurisa M Ankley, Alexander W Rapp, Kayla N Conner, Francois LeSage, Christopher Tanner, Eleanor C Scheeres, Joshua J Obar, Andrew J Olive |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 2026 |
| COLLECTION | PAPERS |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 50 KB |
| VERSION | 1.0 |
| LICENSE | CC BY 4.0 |
| RIGHTS | CC BY |
| SOURCE | Europe PMC |