260-C 15 APRIL 2022 • VOL 376 ISSUE 6590 science.org SCIENCE
RESEARCH
patients and controls. Virus-like
particles enriched from gut tis-
sue or fluid were tested for their
immunomodulatory effects on
human macrophages or intestinal
epithelial cells and introduced into
recipient mice. IBD-associated
enteric viromes promoted
inflammation spontaneously
and after dextran sulfate sodium
(DSS)–induced colitis, whereas
viruses from non-IBD tissue were
protective and also suppressed
the inflammatory properties of
IBD enteric viromes. Viruses dis-
tinct to IBD colon tissue included
enteroviruses missed in previous
fecal virome analyses. These find-
ings illustrate how perturbations
in enteric viromes are detected
by innate immune system sen-
sors with consequences for the
maintenance of normal intestinal
homeostasis. —IRW
Sci. Immunol. 7 , eabn6660 (2022).
NATURAL HAZARDS
Homebound seismology
The 2021 Nippes earthquake in
Haiti destroyed up to 140,000
homes and killed several thou-
sand people. Despite the large
seismic hazard there, Haiti only
has a few high-quality seismic
stations. Calais et al. show that
a low-quality seismic network
hosted in the homes of volun-
teers is capable of providing
important data for characterizing
an earthquake and its after-
shocks (see the Perspective by
von Hillebrandt-Andrade and
Vanacore). The citizen seis-
mic network was particularly
important for identifying and
determining the likelihood of
damaging aftershocks, which
is vital information for those
responding to the destructive
mainshock. —BG
Science, abn1045, this issue p.283;
see also abo5378, p. 246
CORONAVIRUS
Say a KIR-full goodbye
to autoimmunity
Ly 4 9+CD8+ T cells are a subset of
CD8+ T cells that show immuno-
regulatory activity in mice. Li et al.
report the existence of a similar
CD8+ T cell subset in humans
that expresses killer cell immu-
noglobulin-like receptors (KIRs),
a functional parallel of the mouse
Ly49 family (see the Perspective
by Levescot and Cerf-Bensussan).
These cells, which can suppress
self-reactive CD4+ T cells, were
more abundant in patients with
autoimmune conditions such as
celiac disease, multiple sclerosis,
and lupus, as well as in patients
infected with influenza virus or
severe acute respiratory syn-
drome coronavirus 2. When mice
selectively deficient in Ly49+CD8+
T cells were infected with viruses,
they showed normal antiviral
immune responses but eventually
developed symptoms of autoim-
mune disease. KIR+CD8+ T cells
may therefore be an important
therapeutic target for the control
of autoimmune diseases such as
“long COVID” that emerge after
viral infections. —STS
Science, abi9591, this issue p. 265;
see also abp8243, p. 243NEUROSCIENCE
Soma and dendrite
plasticity uncoupled
Although we have detailed knowl-
edge of synaptic and dendritic
plasticity in vitro, learning-
induced changes in vivo are
mostly investigated through unit
recordings or imaging of somatic
calcium activity. However, we
know much less about the
functional and plastic properties
of dendrites in vivo. D’Aquin et al.
combined deep-brain imaging
with high-resolution, subcel-
lular two-photon microscopy to
study the activity of dendrites
and somas of identified amyg-
dala neurons over days in awake
mice undergoing classical fear
conditioning. Sensory stimula-
tion induced compartmentalized
dendritic responses that were
controlled by dendrite-targeting,
somatostatin-positive interneu-
rons. Fear conditioning–induced
plasticity was uncoupled between
soma and dendrites, possibly
reflecting compartment-specific
synaptic- and microcircuit-level
mechanisms that may increase
the computational capacity of
amygdala circuits. —PRS
Science, abf7052, this issue p. 266