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Protective and pathological roles of immunothrombosis in sepsis - Nature Reviews ImmunologyA study in Science uses intravital microscopy to analyse the septic process in real time in mouse lung, showing that immunothrombus formation is associated with early pathology and mortality but later protection from disease through bacterial trapping.

www.nature.com/articles/s41577-026-01323-0

I enjoyed writing about this recent paper in Science Magazine by bryan yipp and colleagues at University of Calgary that describes the immunothrombotic cascade in mouse lung as a crucial tipping… | Kirsty MintonI enjoyed writing about this recent paper in Science Magazine by bryan yipp and colleagues at University of Calgary that describes the immunothrombotic cascade in mouse lung as a crucial tipping point in the balance between protection and pathology during sepsis. Read the Highlight here: https://rdcu.be/fnk8Q Immunothrombosis drives vascular dysfunction and early sepsis mortality but is protective against later disease by trapping bacteria and reducing bacterial load. Crucially, targeting LTB4 prevented thrombosis-driven pathology without attenuating host defence. The image (courtesy of co-author Luke Brown) shows a mature lung vascular immunothrombus (vasculature in grey) in response to E. coli (green) bacteraemia, composed of neutrophils (red) and platelets (blue); captured using lung resonant scanning confocal intravital microscopy.

Targeting LTB4 amplification of pulmonary immunothrombosis reduced large and lethal vascular occlusions while allowing intermediates to capture bacteria and enhance clearance, improving survival… | Luke BrownTargeting LTB4 amplification of pulmonary immunothrombosis reduced large and lethal vascular occlusions while allowing intermediates to capture bacteria and enhance clearance, improving survival during sepsis. https://lnkd.in/eiN9NjX2 Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Canadian Institutes of Health Research | Instituts de recherche en santé du Canada Bryan Yipp AAAS Science Magazine Cumming School of Medicine UCalgary Snyder Institute for Chronic Diseases Trainee Committee Snyder Institute for Chronic Diseases Calgary Herald Alberta Health Services

Congrats Luke! An amazing PhD

Visualizing a lung neutrophil-platelet immunothrombosis cascade during sepsis in mice

Science 28 May 2026

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Wired to Breathe: Inside the Lung-Brain NetworkThe Unsung Lung Podcast · Episode

The silent pneumonia: Biofilms and the neurons that should feel themThe pneumonia your neurons can’t detect

Congrats

Dr. Luke Brown PhD!!!

UCalgary researchers pursue new approach to manage deadly lung scarringResearch into nerve cells opens opportunities to pursue new treatment of pulmonary fibrosis

UCalgary researchers pursue new approach to manage deadly lung scarringResearchers at the University of Calgary studying a lethal lung disease called pulmonary fibrosis have found neurons, which were known to help detect pain, are also critical for reducing harmful lung inflammation that leads to the disease.

Neurons protect against fibrosis - Nature Immunology

New paper in Immunity

Congrats Dr. Carlos Hiroki PhD

Congratulations to Dr. Hiroki PhD!!!

It's #FundamentalDiscoveryWeek and International Awareness Day for Chronic Immunological and Neurological Diseases!

Hotchkiss Brain Institute (HBI)

Fundamental Discovery WeekCelebrating the groundwork of innovationMay 12 - May 18

x.com/HotchkissBrain/status/1922063852264427765

Dr. Guerrero Science Translational Medicine Focus

Pseudomonas infection after lung transplantation induces acute intragraft lymphocytotoxicity that promotes antibody-mediated rejection in mice (Liao et al., this issue). Science Translational Medicine

www.science.org/doi/10.1126/scitranslmed.adu6563

Bacteria Put on an Invisibility Cloak to Cause Asymptomatic Infections Biofilms prevent Pseudomonas aeruginosa toxins from being detected by sensory neurons, tricking the body into not looking sick.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GNxfc_MWcAAoVBp?format=jpg&name=medium

UCalgary research finds direct communication path between the lungs and the brainFindings show that communication can alter the way the brain functions and the way someone behaves

New publication in CELL!

https://authors.elsevier.com/a/1ioD8L7PXqQ70

Congrats Dr. Granton!! 1st choice CaRMs match to Calgary anaesthesia

Congratulations to Dr. Nicole Sarden PhD!!

Congrats to Luke Brown for winning "Best Poster" at a Gordon Conference!

Neutrophils are itching to specializeNeutrophils are heterogeneous, but the mechanisms underlying their ability to polarize remain unclear. In this issue of Immunity, Gour et al. demonstrate that the GPCR Mrgpra1 and the neuropeptide NPFF, molecules involved in pain and itch, direct neutrophil polarization that impacts host defense and pneumonia susceptibility.

How to lose resistance to Aspergillus infectionsThe distinct risk factors to deadly infections by Aspergillus fumigatus (Af) in intensive care unit (ICU) patients are well known; however, so far, the mechanistic link between these predisposing conditions has been unknown. Sarden et al. recently unraveled a shared B1a lymphocyte–natural antibody–neutrophil defense pathway to Af, opening new perspectives in diagnostics and therapeutics.

U of C researchers shed new light on lethal pulmonary fungal infection - The GauntletBy Ana Bodevan, February 13 2023— With the release of HBO’s The Last of Us in mid-January, it seems like everyone is a bit more wary of fungi. Despite nothing indicating that mind-controlling fungi targeting humans and turning us into murderous creatures will ever be a reality, they can be threatening to our health. There […]

The Last of Us paints a fictional fungal apocalypse. But fungi pose some real threats too | The Current with Matt Galloway | Live Radio | CBC ListenThe hit TV show The Last of Us envisions a fungal infection that turns humans into zombie-like creatures intent on infecting others. It’s science fiction, but experts warn there are real threats posed by fungi. We talk with Leah Cowen, co-director of the fungal kingdom program at the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research; and Bryan Yipp, a physician-scientist and assistant professor in the department of critical care medicine at the University of Calgary.

UCalgary study offers new insight into deadly fungal invasion of the lungsDiscovery reveals a new target to fight the lethal intruder

In an interview on CBC’s The Current, Dr. Bryan Yipp discusses the global threat posed by fungiFungal pathogens infect billions of people worldwide, posing a threat to human health and food security, and they are the only organisms causing extinctions in real time, wiping out some species such as amphibians

UCalgary study shows why drug used to treat critically ill COVID-19 patients may only benefit malesA new study from the University of Calgary shows how dexamethasone, the main treatment for severe COVID-19 lung infections, alters how immune cells work, which may help male patients, but has little to no benefit for females.

'Advanced medicines still can't treat these': Deadly fungal infections a concern post-COVID-19, influenza While fungi are not about to start turning the human race into zombies, the World Health Organization (WHO) says invasive fungal infections are an increasing threat to human health

Study shows steroid therapy for severely ill COVID-19 patients has had little to no benefit for Alberta women

Viruses Destroy Crucial Immune Cells That Battle Fungal Infections | MicrobiologyFungi that can cause lung infections are all over our environment. Recent research has highlighted how much fungal species are spreading as well. Once conf | Microbiology

COVID-19 update for Nov. 16: One death and 338 new cases reported over past day | Number of unvaxxed health workers in B.C. falls to 2,885 | Message shifts on airborne transmission

The default drug for severe covid-19 might only work in menWomen don't get the same levels of inflammation as men from covid-19, so the steroid does little against it

Microscopic revelations point to new blood infection therapiesBryan Yipp's study shows that immune cells actually cause dangerous blood vessel blockage, in their rush to contain deadly fungal sepsis

Alberta researchers hopeful for sepsis treatment breakthrough

Neutrophil Fast Squad Are First Responders to Bacterial Lung InvadersThe body's usual response to a bacterial infection in the blood — called sepsis — takes time. It requires a carefully orchestrated sequence of events that gets the body's immune system ramped up to deal with the invading bacteria.

Lungs enlist immune cells to fight infections in capillariesImmune cells in the lungs provide a rapid counterattack to bloodstream infections, a new study in mice finds.

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