Volume 16 Issue 4, April 2015

Leaders gathered at the US National Institutes of Health in November 2014 to discuss recent advances and emerging research areas in aspects of maternal-fetal immunity that may affect fetal development and pregnancy success.

The transcription factor Sox2 has an additional function in neutrophils, as a cytoplasmic sensor of DNA. Upon binding bacterial DNA, Sox2 initiates a signaling cascade dependent on the kinase TAK1 and adaptor TAB2 that culminates in the expression of genes encoding pro-inflammatory molecules.

Interleukin 7 (IL-7) promotes the self-renewing ability of CD4⁻ CD8⁻ double-negative thymocytes by both supporting cell growth and repressing rearrangements of the locus encoding the T cell antigen receptor (TCR).

Stromal cells in the subcapsular sinus of the lymph node 'decide' which cells and molecules are allowed access to the deeper parenchyma. The glycoprotein PLVAP is a crucial component of this selector function.

A surface-localized lectin S-domain receptor kinase confers recognition of lipopolysaccharide in plants.

Iwasaki and Mezhitov provide an update of their classic 2004 Review looking at the control of adaptive immunity by the innate immune system

IL-37 is a member of the IL-1 family with profound anti-inflammatory functions. Nold and colleagues identify the receptor for IL-37 and clarify the molecular nature of the anti-inflammatory pathway induced by this cytokine.

Fan and colleagues show that Sox2, already known to function as a transcription factor that controls lineage specification during embryogenesis, also has a role as a cytosolic and sequence-specific sensor of bacterial DNA in neutrophils.

Visceral adipose tissue (VAT) inflammation drives obesity-induced insulin resistance. Polić and colleagues show that VAT NK cells sense obesity-induced adipose tissue stress and drive inflammation through the production of interferon-γ.

PLVAP is a blood vessel endothelium marker of uncertain function. Salmi and colleagues demonstrate that PLVAP is also expressed on lymphoid endothelial cells, where it regulates the entry of antigen and lymphocytes into the lymph nodes.

IL-7 is known to control the survival of immature DN thymocytes before β-selection. Guidos and colleagues show that during β-selection, IL-7 controls the growth and differentiation of thymocytes, in part by repressing the transcription factor Bcl-6.

Tissue-resident memory T cells (T_RM cells) provide rapid frontline protection from reinfection. Bergsbaken and Bevan identify a gut T_RM cell population generated via an unconventional pathway that is protective against a natural mouse intestinal pathogen.

The RNA-binding protein HuR post-transcriptionally regulates mRNA splicing. Turner and colleagues demonstrate that HuR serves a critical role in thymus-independent antigen responses by regulating the fate of genes related to B cell energy use.

Plants have a vast array of pattern-recognition receptor to detect microbial ligands, but how they sense lipopolysaccharide has remained unknown. Ranf et al. identify the receptor-like kinase SD1-29 as a de facto pattern-recognition receptor for lipopolysaccharide in Arabidopsis.