Scholars@Duke
Jonathan Messerschmidt

Selected Publications

Cryptococcus exploits delayed microglial activation, and microglial osteopontin/Spp1 impairs peripheral host control.

Journal Article Cell Host Microbe · December 10, 2025 Cryptococcus, a neurotropic fungus classified as a critical-priority pathogen by the World Health Organization (WHO), causes cryptococcal meningoencephalitis (CM), the second leading cause of death in HIV/AIDS patients. Despite its clinical importance, hos ... Full text Link to item Cite

Commensal papillomavirus immunity preserves the homeostasis of highly mutated normal skin.

Journal Article Cancer cell · January 2025 Immunosuppression commonly disrupts the homeostasis of mutated normal skin, leading to widespread skin dysplasia and field cancerization. However, the immune system's role in maintaining the normal state of mutated tissues remains uncertain. Herein, we dem ... Full text Cite

TSLP/dendritic cell axis promotes CD4+ T cell tolerance to the gut microbiome.

Journal Article JCI insight · July 2023 Thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP) overexpression is widely associated with atopy. However, TSLP is expressed in normal barrier organs, suggesting a homeostatic function. To determine the function of TSLP in barrier sites, we investigated the impact of en ... Full text Cite

Rejection of benign melanocytic nevi by nevus-resident CD4+ T cells.

Journal Article Science advances · June 2021 Melanoma and melanocytic nevi harbor shared lineage-specific antigens and oncogenic mutations. Yet, the relationship between the immune system and melanocytic nevi is unclear. Using a patient-derived xenograft (PDX) model, we found that 81.8% of the transp ... Full text Cite

Divergent Roles of Epithelium-Derived Alarmins in Notch Signaling-Deficient Skin.

Journal Article The Journal of investigative dermatology · October 2020 Full text Cite

Immunity to commensal papillomaviruses protects against skin cancer.

Journal Article Nature · November 2019 Immunosuppression increases the risk of cancers that are associated with viral infection1. In particular, the risk of squamous cell carcinoma of the skin-which has been associated with beta human papillomavirus (β-HPV) infection-is increased by ... Full text Cite

Sea anemone model has a single Toll-like receptor that can function in pathogen detection, NF-κB signal transduction, and development.

Journal Article Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · November 2017 In organisms from insects to vertebrates, Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are primary pathogen detectors that activate downstream pathways, specifically those that direct expression of innate immune effector genes. TLRs also have roles in development in many sp ... Full text Open Access Cite

Cancer Clonal Theory, Immune Escape, and Their Evolving Roles in Cancer Multi-Agent Therapeutics.

Journal Article Current oncology reports · August 2017 Purpose of reviewThe knowledge base of malignant cell growth and resulting targets is rapidly increasing every day. Clonal theory is essential to understand the changes required for a cell to become malignant. These changes are then clues to thera ... Full text Open Access Cite

How Cancers Escape Immune Destruction and Mechanisms of Action for the New Significantly Active Immune Therapies: Helping Nonimmunologists Decipher Recent Advances.

Journal Article The oncologist · February 2016 UnlabelledWith the Food and Drug Administration and other worldwide regulatory authorities' approval of ipilimumab (Yervoy), sipuleucel-T (Provenge), nivolumab (Opdivo), and pembrolizumab (Keytruda), oncologic therapy has now moved into noncancer ... Full text Open Access Cite