Immunology articles within Nature

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• Research Highlights | 13 January 2010

  Immunology: Double punch for HIV

• Letter | 13 January 2010

  Self versus non-self discrimination during CRISPR RNA-directed immunity

  Distinguishing self from non-self is a vital function for immune systems to repel invaders without inducing autoimmunity. One system, which protects bacteria and archaea from invasion by phage and plasmid DNA, involves clustered, regularly interspaced, short palindromic repeat (CRISPR) loci. Here, in Staphylococcus epidermidis, the mechanism of CRISPR self/non-self discrimination is defined.

  • Luciano A. Marraffini
  •  & Erik J. Sontheimer

• Article | 13 January 2010

  Targeting Bcr–Abl by combining allosteric with ATP-binding-site inhibitors

  GNF-2 is a recently discovered, selective allosteric Bcr–Abl inhibitor. Solution NMR, X-ray crystallography, mutagenesis and hydrogen exchange mass spectrometry are now used to show that GNF-2 binds to the myristate-binding site of Abl, leading to changes in the structural dynamics of the ATP-binding site. The results show that the combination of allosteric and ATP-competitive inhibitors can overcome resistance to either agent alone.

  • Jianming Zhang
  • , Francisco J. Adrián
  •  & Nathanael S. Gray

• Letter | 13 January 2010

  Role of conserved non-coding DNA elements in the Foxp3 gene in regulatory T-cell fate

  Immune homeostasis relies on tight control over the size of a population of regulatory T cells (T_reg) that can suppress over-exuberant immune responses. Cells commit to the T_reg lineage by upregulating the transcription factor Foxp3. Conserved non-coding DNA sequence elements at the Foxp3 locus are now shown to control the composition, size and maintenance of the T_reg cell population.

  • Ye Zheng
  • , Steven Josefowicz
  •  & Alexander Y. Rudensky

• Letter | 07 January 2010

  Chronic active B-cell-receptor signalling in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma

  The role of B-cell-receptor (BCR) signalling in human B cell lymphomas has been a long-standing question, with genetic and functional evidence for its oncogenic role in human lymphomas lacking. Here, a form of 'chronic active' BCR signalling that is required for cell survival in the activated B-cell-like subtype of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma is described and analysed, with potential implications for future therapeutic strategies.

  • R. Eric Davis
  • , Vu N. Ngo
  •  & Louis M. Staudt