Chemical Softness in Aromatic Adsorption: Benzene, Nitrobenzene and Anisole on Pt{111}.

We describe a method for the calculation of chemical softness at metal surfaces, demonstrating its utility in understanding the adsorption of benzene, nitrobenzene and anisole at the Pt{111} surface. Based on this method, we show that directing effects due to either of the substituent groups are mostly swamped by substrate influences, while significant variations in softness within the groups themselves are readily apparent.

Helminth induced monocytosis conveys protection from respiratory syncytial virus infection in mice.

BACKGROUND: Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection in infants is a major cause of viral bronchiolitis and hospitalisation. We have previously shown in a murine model that ongoing infection with the gut helminth Heligmosomoides polygyrus protects against RSV infection through type I interferon (IFN-I) dependent reduction of viral load. Yet, the cellular basis for this protection has remained elusive. Given that recruitment of mononuclear phagocytes to the lung is critical for early RSV infection control, we assessed their role in this coinfection model. METHODS: Mice were infected by oral gavage with H. polygyrus. Myeloid immune cell populations were assessed by flow cytometry in lung, blood and bone marrow throughout infection and after secondary infection with RSV. Monocyte numbers were depleted by anti-CCR2 antibody or increased by intravenous transfer of enriched monocytes. RESULTS: H. polygyrus infection induces bone marrow monopoiesis, increasing circulatory monocytes and lung mononuclear phagocytes in a IFN-I signalling dependent manner. This expansion causes enhanced lung mononuclear phagocyte counts early in RSV infection that may contribute to the reduction of RSV load. Depletion or supplementation of circulatory monocytes prior to RSV infection confirms that these are both necessary and sufficient for helminth induced antiviral protection. CONCLUSIONS: H. polygyrus infection induces systemic monocytosis contributing to elevated mononuclear phagocyte numbers in the lung. These cells are central to an anti-viral effect that reduces the peak viral load in RSV infection. Treatments to promote or modulate these cells may provide novel paths to control RSV infection in high risk individuals.

Configuration of ammonia on Cu{311}: Infrared spectroscopy and first-principles theory.

We describe Reflection Absorption Infrared Spectroscopy (RAIRS) and first-principles Density Functional Theory (DFT) studies of ammonia adsorption on the Cu{311} surface. Our experimental results indicate an upright chemisorbed species at low coverages, with at least one additional species accompanying this at higher coverages. Our high-coverage RAIRS data cannot be fully explained by DFT models containing only ammonia or its dissociation products, even allowing for molecular tilt and/or the formation of a bilayer. We therefore also consider urea and formamide as possible products of surface reaction with residual carbon monoxide, but these species are again not fully compatible with our observed spectra. The overlayer composition at high coverages remains mysterious.

Mucins Shed from the Laminated Layer in Cystic Echinococcosis Are Captured by Kupffer Cells via the Lectin Receptor Clec4F.

Cystic echinococcosis is caused by the larval stages (hydatids) of cestode parasites belonging to the species cluster Echinococcus granulosus sensu lato, with E. granulosus sensu stricto being the main infecting species. Hydatids are bladderlike structures that attain large sizes within various internal organs of livestock ungulates and humans. Hydatids are protected by the massive acellular laminated layer (LL), composed mainly of mucins. Parasite growth requires LL turnover, and abundant LL-derived particles are found at infection sites in infected humans, raising the question of how LL materials are dealt with by the hosts. In this article, we show that E. granulosus sensu stricto LL mucins injected into mice are taken up by Kupffer cells, the liver macrophages exposed to the vascular space. This uptake is largely dependent on the intact mucin glycans and on Clec4F, a C-type lectin receptor which, in rodents, is selectively expressed in Kupffer cells. This uptake mechanism operates on mucins injected both in soluble form intravenously (i.v.) and in particulate form intraperitoneally (i.p.). In mice harboring intraperitoneal infections by the same species, LL mucins were found essentially only at the infection site and in the liver, where they were taken up by Kupffer cells via Clec4F. Therefore, shed LL materials circulate in the host, and Kupffer cells can act as a sink for these materials, even when the parasite grows in sites other than the liver.

Immunology of a unique biological structure: the Echinococcus laminated layer.

The larval stages of the cestode parasites belonging to the genus Echinococcus grow within internal organs of humans and a range of animal species. The resulting diseases, collectively termed echinococcoses, include major neglected tropical diseases of humans and livestock. Echinococcus larvae are outwardly protected by the laminated layer (LL), an acellular structure that is unique to this genus. The LL is based on a fibrillar meshwork made up of mucins, which are decorated by galactose-rich O-glycans. In addition, in the species cluster termed E. granulosus sensu lato, the LL features nano-deposits of the calcium salt of myo-inositol hexakisphosphate (Insp6). The main purpose of our article is to update the immunobiology of the LL. Major recent advances in this area are (i) the demonstration of LL "debris" at the infection site and draining lymph nodes, (ii) the characterization of the decoy activity of calcium Insp6 with respect to complement, (iii) the evidence that the LL mucin carbohydrates interact specifically with a lectin receptor expressed in Kupffer cells (Clec4F), and (iv) the characterization of what appear to be receptor-independent effects of LL particles on dendritic cells and macrophages. Much information is missing on the immunology of this intriguing structure: we discuss gaps in knowledge and propose possible avenues for research.

Dynamic Diastereomerism on Chiral Surfaces.

Adsorption of chiral molecules on chiral surfaces implies diastereomerism, evident in the adoption of distinct adsorption geometries. We show here that this diastereomerism produces a signature in the motion of chiral molecules desorbing from a chiral surface. The rotations of S- and R-alanine molecules are analyzed upon desorption from R-Cu{531} using first-principles molecular dynamics simulations. S-Ala molecules exhibit a larger angular momentum, with a clear preference for one rotational sense, whereas no such preference is observed for R-Ala molecules upon desorption from this surface. These trends would be reversed for desorption from the S-Cu{531} surface. Possible applications include chiral separation techniques and enantiospecific sensors.

First-Principles Dynamics of Fluorine Adsorption on Clean and Monohydrogenated Si{001}.

The interaction of highly reactive species with solid surfaces can result in modes of adsorption quite distinct from the classic molecular and dissociative events that are usually thought to dominate. For instance, compelling experimental evidence suggests that adsorption of F2 at the Si{001} surface is often initiated by abstraction (and binding at the surface) of just one fluorine atom from the molecule; the second fluorine atom subsequently experiences either a separate atomic adsorption event or ejection from the surface altogether. Molecular dynamics simulations using empirical potentials support this concept but massively overestimate the prevalence of atomic ejection. In this work, we report first-principles molecular dynamics calculations that correctly show atomic ejection to be rare while providing insight into the details of abstractive adsorption. In addition, we also examine the case of F2 adsorption onto a monohydrogenated Si{001} surface, finding evidence for a different type of abstractive adsorption, in which a hydrogen atom may be removed from the surface to form a short-lived HFF intermediate. The latter rapidly decomposes to produce either HF or (via reaction with another surface hydrogen atom) H2.

CD11c identifies microbiota and EGR2-dependent MHCII+ serous cavity macrophages with sexually dimorphic fate in mice.

The murine serous cavities contain a rare and enigmatic population of short-lived F4/80lo MHCII+ macrophages but what regulates their development, survival, and fate is unclear. Here, we show that mature F4/80lo MHCII+ peritoneal macrophages arise after birth, but that this occurs largely independently of colonization by microbiota. Rather, microbiota specifically regulate development of a subpopulation of CD11c+ cells that express the immunoregulatory cytokine RELM-α, are reliant on the transcription factor EGR2, and develop independently of the growth factor CSF1. Furthermore, we demonstrate that intrinsic expression of RELM-α, a signature marker shared by CD11c+ and CD11c- F4/80lo MHCII+ cavity macrophages, regulates survival and differentiation of these cells in the peritoneal cavity in a sex-specific manner. Thus, we identify a previously unappreciated diversity in serous cavity F4/80lo MHCII+ macrophages that is regulated by microbiota, and describe a novel sex and site-specific function for RELM-α in regulating macrophage endurance that reveals the unique survival challenge presented to monocyte-derived macrophages by the female peritoneal environment.

Hypoxia shapes the immune landscape in lung injury and promotes the persistence of inflammation.

Hypoxemia is a defining feature of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), an often-fatal complication of pulmonary or systemic inflammation, yet the resulting tissue hypoxia, and its impact on immune responses, is often neglected. In the present study, we have shown that ARDS patients were hypoxemic and monocytopenic within the first 48 h of ventilation. Monocytopenia was also observed in mouse models of hypoxic acute lung injury, in which hypoxemia drove the suppression of type I interferon signaling in the bone marrow. This impaired monopoiesis resulted in reduced accumulation of monocyte-derived macrophages and enhanced neutrophil-mediated inflammation in the lung. Administration of colony-stimulating factor 1 in mice with hypoxic lung injury rescued the monocytopenia, altered the phenotype of circulating monocytes, increased monocyte-derived macrophages in the lung and limited injury. Thus, tissue hypoxia altered the dynamics of the immune response to the detriment of the host and interventions to address the aberrant response offer new therapeutic strategies for ARDS.

Cell origin and niche availability dictate the capacity of peritoneal macrophages to colonize the cavity and omentum.

The relationship between macrophages of the peritoneal cavity and the adjacent omentum remains poorly understood. Here, we describe two populations of omental macrophages distinguished by CD102 expression and use an adoptive cell transfer approach to investigate whether these arise from peritoneal macrophages, and whether this depends upon inflammatory status, the origin of peritoneal macrophages and availability of the omental niches. We show that whereas established resident peritoneal macrophages largely fail to migrate to the omentum, monocyte-derived resident cells readily migrate and form a substantial component of omental CD102+ macrophages in the months following resolution of peritoneal inflammation. In contrast, both populations had the capacity to migrate to the omentum in the absence of endogenous peritoneal and omental macrophages. However, inflammatory macrophages expanded more effectively and more efficiently repopulated both CD102+ and CD102- omental populations, whereas established resident macrophages partially reconstituted the omental niche via recruitment of monocytes. Hence, cell origin determines the migration of peritoneal macrophages to the omentum and predisposes established resident macrophages to drive infiltration of monocyte-derived cells.

The dehydrogenation of butane on metal-free graphene.

The dehydrogenation of alkane feedstock to produce alkenes is a significant and energy intensive industrial process, generally occurring on metals and metal oxides. Here, we investigate a catalytic mechanism for the dehydrogenation of butane on single-layer, metal-free graphene using a combination of ab initio quantum chemical calculations and adsorption microcalorimetry. Dispersion-corrected Density Functional Theory (DFT) is employed to calculate transition states and energy minima that describe the reaction pathways connecting butane to the two possible products, but-1-ene and but-2-ene. The deprotonations occur with moderate energy barriers in the 0.54 eV-0.69 eV range. A strong agreement is observed between the results of the adsorption energies calculated by DFT (0.40 eV) and the measured differential heat of adsorption of n-butane on a graphitic overlayer. We conclude that the active-site for this catalytic reaction is a metal-free graphene vacancy, created by removing a carbon atom from a single-layer graphene sheet.

Systemic Influences of Mammary Cancer on Monocytes in Mice.

There is a growing body of evidence that cancer causes systemic changes. These influences are most evident in the bone marrow and the blood, particularly in the myeloid compartment. Here, we show that there is an increase in the number of bone marrow, circulating and splenic monocytes by using mouse models of breast cancer caused by the mammary epithelial expression of the polyoma middle T antigen. Cancer does not affect ratios of classical to non-classical populations of monocytes in the circulation nor does it affect their half-lives. Single cell RNA sequencing also indicates that cancer does not induce any new monocyte populations. Cancer does not change the monocytic progenitor number in the bone marrow, but the proliferation rate of monocytes is higher, thus providing an explanation for the expansion of the circulating numbers. Deep RNA sequencing of these monocytic populations reveals that cancer causes changes in the classical monocyte compartment, with changes evident in bone marrow monocytes and even more so in the blood, suggesting influences in both compartments, with the down-regulation of interferon type 1 signaling and antigen presentation being the most prominent of these. Consistent with this analysis, down-regulated genes are enriched with STAT1/STAT2 binding sites in their promoter, which are transcription factors required for type 1 interferon signaling. However, these transcriptome changes in mice did not replicate those found in patients with breast cancer. Consequently, this mouse model of breast cancer may be insufficient to study the systemic influences of human cancer.

2D constraint modifies packing behaviour: a halobenzene monolayer with X3 halogen-bonding motif.

Using a combination of X-ray diffraction and simulation techniques, we are able to identify a crystalline monolayer of 1,3,5-triiodotrifluorobenzene formed on graphite. The monolayer is found to exhibit an incommensurate hexagonal unit cell with a lattice parameter of 9.28(7) Å, exhibiting a trigonal arrangement of iodine atoms not found in the bulk structure. DFT simulations have been performed exhibiting close agreement with the experimental structure. Importantly these simulations can be used to compare the strength of the intermolecular interactions both with and without Van der Waals corrections. Thus it is possible to estimate that halogen bonding consists of approximately half the total interaction energy. This demonstrates that despite the presence of strong directional non-covalent bonding, dispersion interactions account for a very significant proportion of the total energy.

The transcription factor EGR2 is indispensable for tissue-specific imprinting of alveolar macrophages in health and tissue repair.

Alveolar macrophages are the most abundant macrophages in the healthy lung where they play key roles in homeostasis and immune surveillance against airborne pathogens. Tissue-specific differentiation and survival of alveolar macrophages rely on niche-derived factors, such as granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) and transforming growth factor­ß (TGF-ß). However, the nature of the downstream molecular pathways that regulate the identity and function of alveolar macrophages and their response to injury remain poorly understood. Here, we identify that the transcription factor EGR2 is an evolutionarily conserved feature of lung alveolar macrophages and show that cell-intrinsic EGR2 is indispensable for the tissue-specific identity of alveolar macrophages. Mechanistically, we show that EGR2 is driven by TGF-ß and GM-CSF in a PPAR-γ­dependent manner to control alveolar macrophage differentiation. Functionally, EGR2 was dispensable for the regulation of lipids in the airways but crucial for the effective handling of the respiratory pathogen Streptococcus pneumoniae. Last, we show that EGR2 is required for repopulation of the alveolar niche after sterile, bleomycin-induced lung injury and demonstrate that EGR2-dependent, monocyte-derived alveolar macrophages are vital for effective tissue repair after injury. Collectively, we demonstrate that EGR2 is an indispensable component of the transcriptional network controlling the identity and function of alveolar macrophages in health and disease.

The expanding world of tissue-resident macrophages.

The term 'macrophage' encompasses tissue cells that typically share dependence on the same transcriptional regulatory pathways (e.g. the transcription factor PU.1) and growth factors (e.g. CSF1/IL-34). They share a core set of functions that largely arise from a uniquely high phagocytic capacity manifest in their ability to clear dying cells, pathogens and scavenge damaged, toxic or modified host molecules. However, macrophages demonstrate a remarkable degree of tissue-specific functionality and have diverse origins that vary by tissue site and inflammation status. With our understanding of this diversity has come an appreciation of the longevity and replicative capacity of tissue-resident macrophages and thus the realisation that macrophages may persist through tissue perturbations and inflammatory events with important consequences for cell function. Here, we discuss our current understanding of the parameters that regulate macrophage survival and function, focusing on the relative importance of the tissue environment versus cell-intrinsic factors, such as origin, how long a cell has been resident within a tissue and prior history of activation. Thus, we reconsider the view of macrophages as wholly plastic cells and raise many unanswered questions about the relative importance of cell life-history versus environment in macrophage programming and function.

Comparative study of single-atom gold and iridium on CeO2{111}.

Oxide-supported single-atom catalysts have shown promise for a variety of heterogeneous processes. In addition to their inherent activity and selectivity, these materials come at much lower financial cost, avoiding the use of full-bodied precious-metal catalysts, but at the conceptual expense that more complex structural and electronic considerations need to be understood if we are to exploit their full potential. Here, we focus on the adsorption of single-atom iridium at both stoichiometric and defective CeO2{111} surfaces, by means of first-principles density functional theory. Reference calculations for the adsorption of single-atom gold, on the same set of substrates, provide a valuable set of benchmarks against which to interpret our iridium results.

Motion of water monomers reveals a kinetic barrier to ice nucleation on graphene.

The interfacial behaviour of water remains a central question to fields as diverse as protein folding, friction and ice formation. While the properties of water at interfaces differ from those in the bulk, major gaps in our knowledge limit our understanding at the molecular level. Information concerning the microscopic motion of water comes mostly from computation and, on an atomic scale, is largely unexplored by experiment. Here, we provide a detailed insight into the behaviour of water monomers on a graphene surface. The motion displays remarkably strong signatures of cooperative behaviour due to repulsive forces between the monomers, enhancing the monomer lifetime ( ≈ 3 s at 125 K) in a free-gas phase that precedes the nucleation of ice islands and, in turn, provides the opportunity for our experiments to be performed. Our results give a molecular perspective on a kinetic barrier to ice nucleation, providing routes to understand and control the processes involved in ice formation.