Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41315257›Full record

ArticleNature communications2025

Human epidermal Langerhans cells induce tolerance and hamper T cell function upon tick-borne pathogen transmission.

Johanna Strobl, Lisa Kleissl, Julia Eder, Sally Connolly, Tobias Frey, Laura Marie Gail, Aglaja Kopf, Sophie Weninger, Mateusz Markowicz, Pavlína Bartíková and 6 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Nature communications, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
  2. Colonization of 3D-organotypic human skin by the Lyme Disease pathogen,bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026
    Article
  3. Review
  4. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

16 authors.

Johanna Strobl *Department of Dermatology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria. johanna.strobl@meduniwien.ac.at.ORCID 0000-0003-3606-2185
Lisa Kleissl *Department of Dermatology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.ORCID 0000-0001-8011-796X
Julia EderDepartment of Dermatology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.ORCID 0000-0001-5555-8536
Sally ConnollyDivision of Immunology, Otto Loewi Research Center, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria.ORCID 0000-0001-5180-5384
Tobias FreyDepartment of Laboratory Medicine, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.ORCID 0000-0002-6274-9864
Laura Marie GailDepartment of Dermatology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.ORCID 0000-0002-2525-9399
Aglaja KopfDepartment of Dermatology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.ORCID 0000-0002-2187-6656
Sophie WeningerDepartment of Dermatology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
Mateusz MarkowiczAustrian Agency for Health and Food Safety (AGES), Vienna, Austria.
Pavlína BartíkováBiomedical Research Center - Institute of Virology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, Slovakia.ORCID 0000-0003-3979-2001
Christian FreystätterDepartment of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
Klaus SchmettererDepartment of Laboratory Medicine, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.ORCID 0000-0001-9328-4871
Herbert StroblDivision of Immunology, Otto Loewi Research Center, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria.ORCID 0000-0002-8070-4977
Hannes StockingerInstitute for Hygiene and Applied Immunology, Center for Pathophysiology, Infectiology and Immunology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.ORCID 0000-0001-6404-4430
Michiel WijnveldInstitute for Hygiene and Applied Immunology, Center for Pathophysiology, Infectiology and Immunology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.ORCID 0000-0003-4559-5960
Georg StaryDepartment of Dermatology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria. georg.stary@meduniwien.ac.at.ORCID 0000-0003-1746-4250

Funding

Austrian Science Fund (Fonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung) PAT 8019123
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Arthropods are ancient vectors of infectious disease that alter the immune environment of the skin during feeding. The epidermis and its immune sentinels, including Langerhans cells, are critical for protection against ectoparasitic arthropods such as ticks. Here, we investigate how human Langerhans cells respond to clinical and experimental tick bites and concomitant infection with the tick-borne bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi. Using imaging, migration assays, immune spheroid models, and single-cell transcriptomic analysis of patient samples, we show that tick bites and tick saliva reprogram Langerhans cells to increase migration into lymphatic tissues, adopt a tolerogenic state marked by specific transcriptional programs, reduced ability to induce pro-inflammatory helper T cells, and enhanced promotion of type 2 and regulatory T cell responses. This shift dampens protective immunity and helps explain how ticks and their pathogens evade host defense and achieve efficient transmission.

Indexed as

EpidermisImmune ToleranceLangerhans CellsLyme DiseaseT-LymphocytesAnimalsBorrelia burgdorferiCell MovementHumansSalivaTick BitesTicksT-Lymphocytes, Regulatory

Identifiers

PMID41315257
PMCPMC12753675

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.