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Meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies on Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias identifies new loci and enables generation of a new genetic risk score associated with the risk of future Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.

Small intestinal neuroendocrine tumours (siNETs) are rare bowel tumors generally considered to be a single entity. Here, the authors perform a multiomics analysis of siNETs and reveal four distinct molecular groups with clinical relevance, including groups linked to differentiation patterns, immunity, and mesenchymal properties.

Known genetic loci account for only a fraction of the genetic contribution to Alzheimer’s disease. Here, the authors have performed a large genome-wide meta-analysis comprising 409,435 individuals to discover 6 new loci and demonstrate the efficacy of an Alzheimer’s disease polygenic risk score.

The advantage of living in cities compared with rural areas with respect to height and BMI in children and adolescents has generally become smaller globally from 1990 to 2020, except in sub-Saharan Africa.

In the dose-escalation part of the ongoing phase 1/2 LIBRA4 trial, patients with relapsed/refractory peripheral T cell lymphoma received T cell antigen receptor beta-chain constant ___domain 1 (TRBC1)-targeted chimeric antigen receptor T cell therapy, showing limited toxicity and encouraging preliminary clinical responses.

Along with a back-to-back published paper from Zielisnki and co. in this issue of Nature Immunology, this paper shows that NaCl affects CD8⁺ T cell function by counteracting the exhaustion of these cells in the tumor microenvironment.

Looking back at some of the key discoveries that shaped the field.

An EU-funded open call aims at building a consortium to bridge basic and applied research on graphene and related atomically thin crystals for the development of integrated circuit technologies.

Although poverty and mental illness are strongly correlated, it is unclear whether they are causally linked. Using UK Biobank and Psychiatric Genomic Consortium data, Marchi et al. provide evidence of a causal relationship between poverty and some mental illnesses.

Scarfò, Randolph et al. perform transcriptomic analysis of 28- to 32-day human embryos and identify CD32 as a marker of haemogenic endothelial cells (HECs), thus providing a strategy to isolate HECs from human embryos and pluripotent stem cell cultures.

From 1980 to 2018, the levels of total and non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol increased in low- and middle-income countries, especially in east and southeast Asia, and decreased in high-income western countries, especially those in northwestern Europe, and in central and eastern Europe.

Analysis of HbA1c and FPG levels across 117 population-based studies demonstrates regional variation in prevalence of previously undiagnosed screen-detected diabetes using one or both measures and suggests that use of elevated FPG alone could underestimate diabetes prevalence in low- and middle-income countries.

Tissue fluidification in invasive breast carcinoma is accompanied by mechanical stresses that compromise nuclear integrity and liberate DNA, resulting in the activation of a pro-inflammatory response that shape tumour evolution and progression.

Michael Seldin and colleagues report a genome-wide association study and meta-analyses for primary biliary cirrhosis. They identify three loci newly associated with susceptibility to this autoimmune liver disease.

Vaccari et al. report that SIV vaccines formulated with two different adjuvants elicit distinct immune responses and effects on SIV acquisition in rhesus macaques.

Using genome-resolved metagenomics for 41 Arctic seawater samples, this ecogenomic analysis of 530 metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) from the polar Arctic Ocean reveals uncultured Arctic bacterial and archaeal MAGs, their gene expression patterns, habitat preferences and metabolic potential.

A genome-wide association study including 22,389 cases of multiple sclerosis finds an association with disease progression at the DYSF–ZNF638 and DNM3–PIGC loci and identifies a potential of higher educational attainment in slowing disease progression.

A cross-ancestry genome-wide association meta-analysis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) including 29,612 patients with ALS and 122,656 controls identifies 15 risk loci with distinct genetic architectures and neuron-specific biology.

Thymosin α1 is used in the clinic as a treatment in viral disease and acts as an anti-inflammatory. Here it was found to also correct the misfolding of mutant CTFR and potentiate its activity, thus improving outcome in a mouse model of cystic fibrosis.

Contrary to the view that urbanization is a major driver of the global rise in obesity, the global increase in body-mass index is shown to be mostly due to increases in the body-mass indexes of rural populations.

In addition to well-characterized hepatic effects, a large body of evidence now suggests that chronic infection with hepatitis C virus (HCV) can lead to endocrine dysfunction. The authors of this Review evaluate the data supporting a link between hepatitis C virus infection and the endocrine system, and discuss potential pathophysiological mechanisms.

This Review summarizes the data on medical treatment of patients with prolactinomas. In particular, the authors focus on previous findings of an association between cardiac valve disease and treatment with dopamine agonists in patients with hyperprolactinemia and on the possibility that permanent control of prolactin levels can be achieved after withdrawal from these drugs.

Evolutionarily conserved gene modules mediate neurodegenerative dementia in a variety of mouse models and in postmortem brain tissue from patients.

Primary biliary cirrhosis is an autoimmune liver disease with poor therapeutic options. Here Cordell et al. a perform meta-analysis of European genome-wide association studies identifying six novel risk loci and a number of potential therapeutic pathways.

The SARS-CoV-2 Assessment of Viral Evolution (SAVE) programme provides a real-time risk assessment of SARS-CoV-2 variants with the potential to affect transmission, virulence and resistance to infection- and vaccine-induced immunity.

Autoantibody testing is key for the diagnosis, classification and management of systemic autoimmune rheumatic diseases; however, issues regarding the reproducibility and reliability of these tests currently limit their usefulness. Approaches to harmonize autoantibody tests, including the development of technical guidelines and the availability of suitable reference materials for calibration and quality control, are discussed in this Review.

Sharon Savage and colleagues report the results of a genome-wide association study of osteosarcoma. They identify two susceptibility loci for this primary bone malignancy, including variants within the metabotropic glutamate receptor gene GRM4.

Dalle Carbonare et al. perform a serology study in participants with a prior infection of SARS-CoV-2 and those who are SARS-CoV-2-naïve, who received two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech BNT162b2 vaccine. After a single dose they observe a quicker recall of pseudovirus neutralization titres in previously-infected participants and a potent IgA response in both groups that was not associated with serum neutralization titres.

Radiotherapy-induced abscopal responses enhance the efficacy of anti-CTLA-4 in patients with non-small-cell lung cancer.