Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42616728›Full record

ReviewPLoS biology2026

Encrypted immunity mediated by peptides.

Zhenrun J Zhang, Yifat Merbl, Cesar de la Fuente-Nunez

Abstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in PLoS biology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Zhenrun J ZhangDepartments of Psychiatry and Microbiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America.
Yifat MerblDepartment of Systems Immunology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel.
Cesar de la Fuente-NunezDepartments of Psychiatry and Microbiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2005-5629

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Computational and experimental advances have led to the discovery of a large and diverse repertoire of bioactive peptides encrypted within proteins from across the tree of life. Mounting evidence suggests that these peptides can contribute to host defense not only through direct antimicrobial activity, but also through immunomodulatory and potentially broader physiological functions. This Essay synthesizes this emerging field from a broader biological perspective and explains the conceptual logic of immunity mediated by encrypted peptides. It proposes that such 'encrypted immunity' represents a previously underappreciated layer of host defense and physiology, with potential implications for therapeutics, diagnostics, and fundamental biology.

Indexed as

PeptidesAnimalsAntimicrobial PeptidesHumansImmunity, InnateAntimicrobial PeptidesPeptides

Identifiers

PMID42616728
PMCPMC13489431

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.