Biotech bailout?

Nature Immunology 10, 667 (2009). doi:10.1038/ni0709-667

A rescue of some sort will be needed to save a large subset of the US biotechnology industry.

NKT cells turn ten

Nature Immunology 10, 669 (2009). doi:10.1038/ni0709-669

Authors: Peter D Burrows, Mitchell Kronenberg & Masaru Taniguchi

It has been 10 years since the first workshop on natural killer T cells helped to launch a growth phase for this field of research.

NIAID workshop on immunity to malaria: addressing immunological challenges

Nature Immunology 10, 673 (2009). doi:10.1038/ni0709-673

Authors: Alison Deckhut Augustine, B Fenton Hall, Wolfgang W Leitner, Annie X Mo, Tonu M Wali & Anthony S Fauci

The US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases convened a workshop of malaria investigators and immunologists to foster collaborations and attract more immunologists into malaria research. Discussions highlighted research gaps and underscored the incomplete understanding of basic immune mechanisms that contribute to the pathogenesis of or protection against malaria.

Basophils trump dendritic cells as APCs for TH2 responses

Nature Immunology 10, 679 (2009). doi:10.1038/ni0709-679

Author: Thomas A Wynn

Dendritic cells are best known as antigen-presenting cells that initiate adaptive immune responses. Three new papers suggest that basophils initiate allergen- and helminth-driven CD4+ T helper type 2 responses by functioning as antigen-presenting cells in draining lymph nodes.

CSF-1R, DAP12 and β-catenin: a ménage à trois

Nature Immunology 10, 681 (2009). doi:10.1038/ni0709-681

Authors: Daniel W McVicar & Giorgio Trinchieri

DAP12-coupled receptors influence signals emanating from Toll-like receptors, integrins and receptors for cytokines and growth factors. New findings indicate that DAP12 also facilitates the ability of CSF-1R, the receptor for M-CSF, to induce the stabilization and nuclear translocation of β-catenin.

ASMase: the tailor of cytotoxic T cell granule exocytosis

Nature Immunology 10, 683 (2009). doi:10.1038/ni0709-683

Author: Christian Bogdan

Deficiency in acid sphingomyelinase causes lysosomal storage of sphingomyelin, mediates resistance to stress-induced apoptosis and alters susceptibility to certain infections. New work links acid sphingomyelinase to the granule exocytosis of cytotoxic T cells.

A novel modifier of regulatory T cells

Nature Immunology 10, 685 (2009). doi:10.1038/ni0709-685

Authors: Naganari Ohkura & Shimon Sakaguchi

The receptor for the lipid mediator sphingosine 1-phosphate is critical for T cell trafficking. New data show that signaling mediated by this receptor critically controls the development, maintenance and suppressive activity of natural regulatory T cells that express the transcription factor Foxp3.

MHC class II–dependent basophil–CD4+ T cell interactions promote TH2 cytokine–dependent immunity

Nature Immunology 10, 697 (2009). doi:10.1038/ni.1740

Authors: Jacqueline G Perrigoue, Steven A Saenz, Mark C Siracusa, Eric J Allenspach, Betsy C Taylor, Paul R Giacomin, Meera G Nair, Yurong Du, Colby Zaph, Nico van Rooijen, Michael R Comeau, Edward J Pearce, Terri M Laufer & David Artis

Basophils contribute to TH2-IgE responses in vivo via IL-4 production and presentation of peptide–MHC class II complexes to CD4+ T cells

Nature Immunology 10, 706 (2009). doi:10.1038/ni.1737

Authors: Tomohiro Yoshimoto, Koubun Yasuda, Hidehisa Tanaka, Masakiyo Nakahira, Yasutomo Imai, Yoshihiro Fujimori & Kenji Nakanishi

Basophils function as antigen-presenting cells for an allergen-induced T helper type 2 response

Nature Immunology 10, 713 (2009). doi:10.1038/ni.1738

Authors: Caroline L Sokol, Ngoc-Quynh Chu, Shuang Yu, Simone A Nish, Terri M Laufer & Ruslan Medzhitov

Structural and functional implications of the alternative complement pathway C3 convertase stabilized by a staphylococcal inhibitor

Nature Immunology 10, 721 (2009). doi:10.1038/ni.1756

Authors: Suzan H M Rooijakkers, Jin Wu, Maartje Ruyken, Robert van Domselaar, Karel L Planken, Apostolia Tzekou, Daniel Ricklin, John D Lambris, Bert J C Janssen, Jos A G van Strijp & Piet Gros

Structure of complement fragment C3b–factor H and implications for host protection by complement regulators

Nature Immunology 10, 728 (2009). doi:10.1038/ni.1755

Authors: Jin Wu, You-Qiang Wu, Daniel Ricklin, Bert J C Janssen, John D Lambris & Piet Gros

Macrophage colony-stimulating factor induces the proliferation and survival of macrophages via a pathway involving DAP12 and β-catenin

Nature Immunology 10, 734 (2009). doi:10.1038/ni.1744

Authors: Karel Otero, Isaiah R Turnbull, Pietro Luigi Poliani, William Vermi, Elisa Cerutti, Taiki Aoshi, Ilaria Tassi, Toshiyuki Takai, Samuel L Stanley, Mark Miller, Andrey S Shaw & Marco Colonna

The E3 ubiquitin ligase Nrdp1 'preferentially' promotes TLR-mediated production of type I interferon

Nature Immunology 10, 744 (2009). doi:10.1038/ni.1742

Authors: Chen Wang, Taoyong Chen, Jia Zhang, Mingjin Yang, Nan Li, Xiongfei Xu & Xuetao Cao

Immunological synapse formation inhibits, via NF-κB and FOXO1, the apoptosis of dendritic cells

Nature Immunology 10, 753 (2009). doi:10.1038/ni.1750

Authors: Lorena Riol-Blanco, Cristina Delgado-Martín, Noelia Sánchez-Sánchez, Luis M Alonso-C, María Dolores Gutiérrez-López, Gloria Martínez del Hoyo, Joaquín Navarro, Francisco Sánchez-Madrid, Carlos Cabañas, Paloma Sánchez-Mateos & José Luis Rodríguez-Fernández

Acid sphingomyelinase is a key regulator of cytotoxic granule secretion by primary T lymphocytes

Nature Immunology 10, 761 (2009). doi:10.1038/ni.1757

Authors: Jasmin Herz, Julian Pardo, Hamid Kashkar, Michael Schramm, Elza Kuzmenkina, Erik Bos, Katja Wiegmann, Reinhard Wallich, Peter J Peters, Stefan Herzig, Elmon Schmelzer, Martin Krönke, Markus M Simon & Olaf Utermöhlen

The receptor S1P1 overrides regulatory T cell–mediated immune suppression through Akt-mTOR

Nature Immunology 10, 769 (2009). doi:10.1038/ni.1743

Authors: Guangwei Liu, Samir Burns, Gonghua Huang, Kelli Boyd, Richard L Proia, Richard A Flavell & Hongbo Chi

Interleukin 17 acts in synergy with B cell–activating factor to influence B cell biology and the pathophysiology of systemic lupus erythematosus

Nature Immunology 10, 778 (2009). doi:10.1038/ni.1741

Authors: Agnès Doreau, Alexandre Belot, Jérémy Bastid, Benjamin Riche, Marie-Claude Trescol-Biemont, Bruno Ranchin, Nicole Fabien, Pierre Cochat, Claire Pouteil-Noble, Pierre Trolliet, Isabelle Durieu, Jacques Tebib, Berhouz Kassai, Stéphane Ansieau, Alain Puisieux, Jean-François Eliaou & Nathalie Bonnefoy-Bérard

Immune complex relay by subcapsular sinus macrophages and noncognate B cells drives antibody affinity maturation

Nature Immunology 10, 786 (2009). doi:10.1038/ni.1745

Authors: Tri Giang Phan, Jesse A Green, Elizabeth E Gray, Ying Xu & Jason G Cyster