{"id":55892,"date":"2026-01-27T11:47:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-27T19:47:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/?post_type=disclosure&#038;p=55892"},"modified":"2026-03-06T10:53:28","modified_gmt":"2026-03-06T18:53:28","slug":"how-do-nature-and-nurture-shape-our-immune-cells","status":"publish","type":"disclosure","link":"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/de\/news-release\/how-do-nature-and-nurture-shape-our-immune-cells\/","title":{"rendered":"Wie pr\u00e4gen Natur und Erziehung unsere Immunzellen?"},"content":{"rendered":"<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style: none; padding-left: -20px !important; margin-left: -20px !important;\"><strong>Highlights<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Salk Institute researchers analyzed immune cells from 110 people and found that genetic differences and life experiences (sickness, vaccination history, environment) impact immune cells differently.<\/li>\n<li>The findings help explain why people respond differently to the same infections and treatments.<\/li>\n<li>The study provides a foundation for personalized medicine to prevent disease onset, bolster immune health, or treat infectious diseases, cancers, and other immune disorders.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>LA JOLLA\u2014The COVID-19 pandemic gave us tremendous perspective on how wildly symptoms and outcomes can vary between patients experiencing the same infection. How can two people infected by the same pathogen have such different responses?<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_55895\"  class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/260127-pr-ecker-authors.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"277\" class=\"img-responsive wp-image-55895 size-pr-300\" src=\"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/260127-pr-ecker-authors-300x277.jpg\" alt=\"Joseph Ecker (top left), Manoj Hariharan (top right), Wubin Ding (bottom left), and Wenliang Wang (bottom right) debut epigenetic atlas showing how nature and nurture distinctly impact immune cells.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/260127-pr-ecker-authors-300x277.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/260127-pr-ecker-authors-1024x946.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/260127-pr-ecker-authors-768x710.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/260127-pr-ecker-authors-147x136.jpg 147w, https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/260127-pr-ecker-authors-458x423.jpg 458w, https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/260127-pr-ecker-authors-585x541.jpg 585w, https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/260127-pr-ecker-authors-553x511.jpg 553w, https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/260127-pr-ecker-authors-750x693.jpg 750w, https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/260127-pr-ecker-authors-767x709.jpg 767w, https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/260127-pr-ecker-authors-945x873.jpg 945w, https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/260127-pr-ecker-authors.jpg 1500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Joseph Ecker (top left), Manoj Hariharan (top right), Wubin Ding (bottom left), and Wenliang Wang (bottom right) debut epigenetic atlas showing how nature and nurture distinctly impact immune cells.<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/260127-pr-ecker-authors.jpg\">Klicken Sie hier<\/a> f\u00fcr ein hochaufl\u00f6sendes Bild.<br \/>Kredit: Salk Institut<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>It largely comes down to variability in genetics (the genes you inherit) and life experience (your environmental, infection, and vaccination history). These two influences are imprinted on our cells through small molecular alterations called epigenetic changes, which shape cell identity and function by controlling whether genes are turned \u201con\u201d or \u201coff.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Salk Institute researchers are debuting a new epigenetic catalog that reveals the distinct effects of genetic inheritance and life experience on various types of immune cells. The new cell type-specific database, published in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/s41588-025-02479-6\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>Nature Genetics<\/em><\/a> on January 27, 2026, helps explain individual differences in immune responses and may serve as the foundation for more effective and personalized therapeutics.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur immune cells carry a molecular record of both our genes and our life experiences, and those two forces shape the immune system in very different ways,\u201d says senior author\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/de\/scientist\/joseph-ecker\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Joseph Ecker, PhD,<\/a> professor, Salk International Council Chair in Genetics, and Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator. \u201cThis work shows that infections and environmental exposures leave lasting epigenetic fingerprints that influence how immune cells behave. By resolving these effects cell by cell, we can begin to connect genetic and epigenetic risk factors to the specific immune cells where disease actually begins.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"font-size: 20px; margin-top: 40px;\"><strong>What is the epigenome?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>All the cells in your body share the same DNA sequence. And yet, there are many specialized cell types that look and act entirely differently. This diversity is due, in part, to a collection of small molecular tags called epigenetic markers, which decorate the DNA and signal which genes should be turned on or off in each cell. The many epigenetic changes in each cell collectively make up that cell\u2019s <em>epigenome<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>Unlike the base genetic code, the epigenome is far more flexible\u2014some epigenetic differences are strongly influenced by inherited genetic variation, while others are acquired experientially across a lifetime. Immune cells are no exception to these forces, but it was unclear whether these two types of epigenetic changes\u2014inherited versus experiential\u2014affected immune cells in the same way.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe debate between nature and nurture is a long-standing discussion in both biology and society,\u201d says co-first author Wenliang Wang, PhD, a staff scientist in Ecker\u2019s lab. \u201cUltimately, both genetic inheritance and environmental factors impact us, and we wanted to figure out exactly how that manifests in our immune cells and informs our health.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_55897\"  class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/260127-pr-ecker-illustration.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" class=\"img-responsive wp-image-55897 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/260127-pr-ecker-illustration-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"Salk scientists discover that different people can have distinct responses to the same infection depending on how their genetics and life experiences have shaped their immune cell function. The colorful left silhouette represents a patient whose immune system is well-suited for the same infection that the dull right silhouette is unable to handle.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/260127-pr-ecker-illustration-1024x682.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/260127-pr-ecker-illustration-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/260127-pr-ecker-illustration-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/260127-pr-ecker-illustration-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/260127-pr-ecker-illustration-147x98.jpg 147w, https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/260127-pr-ecker-illustration-458x305.jpg 458w, https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/260127-pr-ecker-illustration-585x390.jpg 585w, https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/260127-pr-ecker-illustration-553x369.jpg 553w, https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/260127-pr-ecker-illustration-750x500.jpg 750w, https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/260127-pr-ecker-illustration-767x511.jpg 767w, https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/260127-pr-ecker-illustration-945x630.jpg 945w, https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/260127-pr-ecker-illustration.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Salk scientists discover that different people can have distinct responses to the same infection depending on how their genetics and life experiences have shaped their immune cell function. The colorful left silhouette represents a patient whose immune system is well-suited for the same infection that the dull right silhouette is unable to handle.<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/260127-pr-ecker-illustration.jpg\">Klicken Sie hier<\/a> f\u00fcr ein hochaufl\u00f6sendes Bild.<br \/>Kredit: Salk Institut<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2 style=\"font-size: 20px; margin-top: 40px;\"><strong>How do your life experiences affect your immune cells?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>To determine how nature and nurture influence immune cell epigenomes, the Salk team needed to survey a diverse pool of samples. By collecting and analyzing blood samples from 110 individuals, the researchers were able to observe the effects of a variety of genetic profiles and life experiences, including flu; HIV-1, MRSA, MSSA, and SARS-CoV-2 infections; anthrax vaccination; and exposure to organophosphate pesticides.<\/p>\n<p>The researchers then compared the epigenetic profiles of four major immune cell types: T and B cells, known for their long-term memory of past infections, and monocytes and natural killer cells, which respond more broadly and rapidly. From these many samples and cells, the team built a catalog of all the epigenetic markers, or <em>differentially methylated regions <\/em>(DMRs)<em>, <\/em>in each cell type. <em>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe found that disease-associated genetic variants often work by altering DNA methylation in specific immune cell types,\u201d says co-first author Wubin Ding, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow in Ecker\u2019s lab. \u201cBy mapping these connections, we can begin to pinpoint which cells and molecular pathways may be affected by disease risk genes, potentially opening new avenues for more targeted therapies.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Importantly, the researchers were able to parse out which epigenetic changes were genetically inherited (gDMRs) and which were from life experiences (eDMRs). It became clear that gDMRs and eDMRs were clustered in distinct regions of the epigenome, with gDMRs occurring around more stable gene regions\u2014especially in long-lived T and B cells\u2014and eDMRs primarily in flexible regulatory regions that trigger specific immune responses.<\/p>\n<p>Based on the variable gDMR and eDMR locations, the data suggest that genetic inheritance shapes more stable, long-term immune programs, while life experiences preferentially influence dynamic, context-specific immune responses. Further research will need to elucidate the exact impact that nature-versus-nurture factors have on immune performance.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur human population immune cell atlas will also be an excellent resource for future mechanistic research on both infectious and genetic diseases, including diagnoses and prognosis,\u201d says co-first author Manoj Hariharan, PhD, a senior staff scientist in Ecker\u2019s lab. \u201cOften, when people become sick, we are not immediately sure of the cause or potential severity\u2014the epigenetic signatures we developed offer a road map to classify and assess these situations.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"font-size: 20px; margin-top: 40px;\"><strong>Could we use immune cell epigenomes to predict patient outcomes?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>The findings demonstrate the unique and substantial influence of both nature and nurture on immune cell identity and immune system performance. What\u2019s more, the catalog offers an exciting jumping-off point for creating new personalized treatment plans.<\/p>\n<p>Ecker explains that with more time and more patient samples, this catalog could serve as a blueprint for predicting how someone may respond to an infection. For example, if enough COVID-19 patients contribute their immune cells to the database, researchers could find survivors all share the same eDMR. From there, scientists could profile a new COVID-19 patient to see whether they already have this protective eDMR, and if not, they could identify protective regulatory mechanisms associated with that eDMR and target them therapeutically.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur work lays the foundation for developing precision prevention strategies for infectious diseases,\u201d says Wang. \u201cFor COVID-19, influenza, or many other infections, we may one day be able to help predict how someone may react to an infection, even before exposure, as cohorts and models continue to expand. Instead, we can just use their genome to predict the ways the infection will impact their epigenome, then predict how those epigenetic changes will influence their symptoms.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"font-size: 20px; margin-top: 40px;\"><strong>Andere Autoren und Finanzierung<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Other authors include Anna Bartlett, Cesar Barragan, Rosa Castanon, Vince Rothenberg, Haili Song, Joseph Nery, Jordan Altshul, Mia Kenworthy, Hanqing Liu, Wei Tian, Jingtian Zhou, Qiurui Zeng, and Huaming Chen of Salk; Andrew Aldridge, Lisa L. Satterwhite, Thomas W. Burke, Elizabeth A. Petzold, and Vance G. Fowler Jr. of Duke University; Bei Wei and William J. Greenleaf of Stanford University; Irem B. G\u00fcnd\u00fcz and Fabian M\u00fcller of Saarland University; Todd Norell and Timothy J. Broderick of the Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition; Micah T. McClain and Christopher W. Woods of Duke University and Durham Veterans Affairs Medical Center; Xiling Shen of the Terasaki Institute for Biomedical Innovation; Parinya Panuwet, and Dana B. Barr of Emory University; Jennifer L. Beare, Anthony K. Smith, and Rachel R. Spurbeck of Battelle Memorial Institute; Sindhu Vangeti, Irene Ramos, German Nudelman, and Stuart C. Sealfon of Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai; Flora Castellino of the US Department of Health and Human Services; and Anna Maria Walley and Thomas Evans of Vaccitech plc.<\/p>\n<p>The work was supported by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (N6600119C4022) through the US Army Research Office (W911NF-19-2-0185), National Institutes of Health (P50-HG007735, UM1-HG009442, UM1-HG009436, 1R01AI165671), and National Science Foundation (1548562, 1540931, 2005632).<\/p>","protected":false},"featured_media":55903,"template":"","faculty":[42],"disease-research":[122,366],"class_list":["post-55892","disclosure","type-disclosure","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","faculty-joseph-ecker","disease-research-immune-system-biology","disease-research-infectious-disease"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>How do nature and nurture shape our immune cells? - Salk Institute for Biological Studies<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/de\/news-release\/how-do-nature-and-nurture-shape-our-immune-cells\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"de_DE\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How do nature and nurture shape our immune cells? - Salk Institute for Biological Studies\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Highlights Salk Institute researchers analyzed immune cells from 110 people and found that genetic differences and life experiences (sickness, vaccination history, environment) impact immune cells differently. The findings help explain why people respond differently to the same infections and treatments. The study provides a foundation for personalized medicine to prevent disease onset, bolster immune health, or treat infectious diseases, cancers, and other immune disorders. LA JOLLA\u2014The COVID-19 pandemic gave us tremendous perspective on how wildly symptoms and outcomes can vary between patients experiencing the same infection. 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The findings help explain why people respond differently to the same infections and treatments. The study provides a foundation for personalized medicine to prevent disease onset, bolster immune health, or treat infectious diseases, cancers, and other immune disorders. LA JOLLA\u2014The COVID-19 pandemic gave us tremendous perspective on how wildly symptoms and outcomes can vary between patients experiencing the same infection. 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