IMMUNOLOGY2026™ Conference Recordings For Attendees-High throughput CRISPR screens reveals novel roles for retroviral elements in proliferation and inflammation in murine macrophages

High throughput CRISPR screens reveals novel roles for retroviral elements in proliferation and inflammation in murine macrophages

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Video Summary

Eric Melekos described a project in the Carpenter Lab at UC Santa Cruz focused on non-coding elements of the genome in macrophages. Using ribosome profiling, proteomics, and custom computational tools, his team identified over 20,000 candidate non-canonical coding sequences in immune cells, then used CRISPR screens in macrophages to link about 100 of them to phenotype. Two main screens were used: an essentiality screen and an NF-kappa-B GFP signaling screen. He validated several hits, including long non-coding RNAs encoding unusual proteins, some related to retroviral envelope proteins. One appeared to regulate NF-kappa-B, while another secreted protein had broad effects on metabolism and immune pathways. The work suggests many previously overlooked genomic regions can produce functional proteins with important roles in immunity.

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Date April 18, 2026 1:00 PM - 1:15 PM

Room 156

Session Microenvironmental Influences on Innate Immunity

Speaker Eric Malekos

Track Innate Immune Responses and Host Defense: Cellular Mechanisms (INC)

Year 2026

Keywords

macrophages

non-coding genome

CRISPR screens

NF-kappa-B signaling

proteomics

April 18, 2026 1:00 PM - 1:15 PM

156

Microenvironmental Influences on Innate Immunity

Eric Malekos

Innate Immune Responses and Host Defense: Cellular Mechanisms (INC)

2026