Reviews & Analysis

Here, John MacMicking provides a broad overview of the recently described functional properties of interferon-inducible effector proteins that mediate cell-autonomous host defence against internalized bacteria, protozoa and viruses.

This Review argues against the historical view of the granuloma as a host-protective structure and provides evidence that the innate immune mechanisms of tuberculous granulomas are involved in the expansion and dissemination of infection.

In T cells, the kinase mTOR (mammalian target of rapamycin) integrates immune signals and metabolic cues to control T cell maintenance and activation. This Review describes the role of mTOR in determining T cell fate decisions and the implications of targeting mTOR in the treatment of disease.

Dendritic cells (DCs) are the master regulators of T cell responses to foreign antigens. This Review discusses how the tumour necrosis factor (TNF) superfamily of molecules influences DC biology and the outcome for T cell immune responses.

Here, the authors discuss how the immune activities of myeloid cells, such as macrophages and dendritic cells, are affected by the immunosuppressive tumour environment. They propose that tumours can evade the immune system by promoting aberrant differentiation and function of the entire myeloid system.

This article discusses how T cells promote antitumour immunity in patients with cancer. In certain cancer types, T cell populations that are isolated from tumours and expandedin vitrocan promote cancer remission when re-infused into patients. The authors explain the pros and cons of this type of immunotherapy.

In this Review article, the authors describe the mechanisms by which natural killer cells and natural killer T cells can promote tumour cell elimination. Furthermore, they discuss the new therapies that are being used to boost the antitumour properties of these cells in the clinic.

Here, the authors discuss what is known about the gene expression and chromatin modifications in memory T cells that make these cells distinct from naive T cells, and provide some opinions on the future direction of the field.

B cells are unique in their ability to link the innate and adaptive immune systems owing to their expression of both an antigen-specific B cell receptor (BCR) and pattern-recognizing Toll-like receptors (TLRs). This article focuses on the role of dual BCR and TLR signalling in fine-tuning B cell responses, with a particular emphasis on B cell-intrinsic events.

This article reviews the interplay between innate and adaptive immune cells in the response to viral infection of the lower respiratory tract and describes the fine-tuning mechanisms that control antiviral T cells in the lungs but that can also predispose an individual to subsequent pulmonary bacterial infections.

The tolerogenic properties of the liver make it an attractive site for infection by pathogens. This Review describes how most pathogens are effectively controlled by immune responses in the liver, and how some pathogens, such as hepatitis viruses and malaria-causing parasites, can establish chronic infections in the liver.

In this Opinion article, Blander and Sander examine how the immune system is able to distinguish between viable and dead, pathogenic and non-pathogenic, or invading and colonizing microorganisms. They propose five immune checkpoints that can be used to determine the relative threat of a particular microbial encounter.

Here, the authors discuss the biological role of interleukin-2 (IL-2) in the immune system, focusing on recent advances in our understanding of how IL-2 signals have different effects on various T cell populations and how this knowledge can be harnessed in the clinic.

The authors use flow cytometry of peripheral blood mononuclear cells as an example to outline the approaches to assay standardization that will be required to realize the full potential of immunophenotyping as a research tool and in the clinic.

How are regulatory T (T_Reg) cells selected in the thymus? What is the role of T cell receptor specificity in the generation of self antigen-specific T_Reg cells? What is the involvement of thymic antigen-presenting cells in T_Reg cell differentiation and how is FOXP3 expression induced in developing thymocytes? Here, the authors summarize the latest findings in the field of T_Regcells to provide answers to these long-standing questions.

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) have a central role in the initiation of innate and adaptive immune responses. Recent studies have shown that various accessory molecules are required for the biosynthesis and/or activation of several TLRs. A detailed knowledge of these accessory molecules is necessary to better understand the function of TLRs in the immune system.

This Review article looks at how the features of vertebrate adaptive immunity — specificity, self-tolerance and memory — can be achieved in plants through different immune strategies.

The dendritic cell (DC) network consists of several DC subsets with distinct functions. Here, Gabrielle Belz and Stephen Nutt focus on transcription factors that regulate DC lineage specification in response to developmental and environmental cues.

Immunity to viruses is typically associated with the development of cytotoxic CD8⁺ T cells. However, CD4⁺ T cells are also important for protection during viral infection. Here, the authors describe the various ways in which different CD4⁺T cell subsets can contribute to the antiviral immune response.

Allergic contact dermatitis is a common skin disease that is driven by an inappropriate immune response to innocuous environmental antigens. This Review focuses on how the early immune mechanisms that are triggered in response to contact allergens promote subsequent disease development.