Commensals and immune cells speak in the language of endogenous retroviruses.

Zamora, Paula F; Bomberger, Jennifer M · Cell · 2021

editorial · Level V

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Abstract

How the microbiome and mucosal environment mediate homeostatic immunity in the skin is not well understood. In this issue of Cell, Lima-Junior and colleagues report that skin commensal bacteria induce endogenous retrovirus (ERV) expression and antiviral immune responses in keratinocytes, favoring the priming of beneficial commensal-specific T cell subsets that promote tissue homeostasis.

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