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Much of the research on lung immunology has concentrated on classic hematopoietically derived cells of the immune system. In this Focus Review, Alenghat and Whitsett discuss the key innate immunological functions of the respiratory epithelium.
Asthma is typically thought to be a consequence of overreactive type II responses. In this Focus Review, Lambrecht and Hammad discuss the latest thinking on the etiology of asthma and the importance of alternative mechanisms such as ILC2, TH9 and TH17 cells.
Mycobacterial tuberculosis remains a disease of major importance. In this Focus Review, Orme, Robinson and Cooper discuss lung immune responses to mycobacteria and describe how the bacterium can manipulate host immunity to its own ends.
The lungs hosts their own unique populations of macrophages and dendritic cells. In this Focus Review, Kopf, Schneider and Nobs discuss the development and maintenance of these populations in the lungs.
The lungs are the main site of entry for most viral pathogens. In this Focus Review, Chiu and Openshaw discuss adaptive immune responses to lung-tropic viruses and implications for vaccine development.
Mesenchymal stem cells are being considered as potential therapy for the regeneration of damaged tissues. Shi and colleagues review how these cells are influenced by inflammation and their interactions with cells of the immune system.
The ER stress response is a well-characterized process aimed at restoring ER function. Lambrecht et al. explore how ER stress can also intersect with the innate and adaptive immune response at multiple levels.
How agonist peptides initiate the T cell antigen receptor (TCR) signaling cascade is widely debated. Weiss and Chakraborty discuss current models of the proximal signaling events that ensue upon recognition of agonist peptide–MHC complexes by TCRs.
Thymocytes and mature T cells are exposed to a broad range of self-peptides of varying reactivity with TCRs. Hogquist and Jameson discuss how differences in self-reactivity and TCR signal strength dictate subsequent cell fates.
TCR engagement triggers activation of downstream kinases. Navarro and Cantrell discuss how the network of serine/threonine kinases instruct T cell metabolism to participate in immune responses.
Neutrophils are classically known for their role as efficient phagocytes. Nauseef and Borregaard discuss other aspects of their biology, including trafficking, phagosome heterogeneity and the production of ectosomes.
RNA-binding proteins regulate gene expression by interacting with mRNA and destabilizing it. In this Focus Review, Kontoyiannis and colleagues describe how this class of protein affects various aspects of immunological function.
Approximately 10% of the human genome is involved in either ubiquitination or phosphorylation. In this Focus Review, Cohen describes the mutations underlying the diseases afflicting these important post-translational systems.
Immune system proteins are subject to numerous post-translational modifications. In this Focus Review, Mowen and David describe the key 'non-conventional' modifications such as acetylation and nitrosylation that affect immunologically-relevant proteins.
Non-coding RNA accounts for a large proportion of the mammalian genome. In this Focus Review, Martin Turner and colleagues explore how these RNA species regulate gene transcription in the immune system.
Translation of mRNA is controlled by a whole host of tightly regulated processes. In this Focus Review, Piccirillo et al. describe how translational skewing can serve a key role in the immune system.
Love and colleagues review the limitations of bulk measurements for monitoring the immune system and explore advances in single-cell technologies that overcome these problems.