Externalized histone H4 orchestrates chronic inflammation by inducing lytic cell death

Many chronic disorders result from disrupting immune responses. An international study (6 countries) conducted by Oliver Soehnlein of LMU Munich, including the AFM team at CEA/IRIG/IBS in Grenoble, has shown that neutrophils exacerbate atherosclerosis by causing the death of smooth muscle cells under the effect of the H4 histone and that a suitable peptide is able to inhibit the process.
The initial membrane bilayers production and AFM imaging was performed by Jean-Marie Teulon and pursued by Nihel Berrebeh during her master2 internship. Nihel also imaged by AFM the inhibition of histone H4 by peptides on these bilayers.

Silvestre-Roig C, et al. (2019) Externalized histone H4 orchestrates chronic inflammation by inducing lytic cell death. Nature 569 : 236-240.