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Differences in the gut microbiota can influence immunity, not just at mucosal sites but also at more distal sites. But what are the implications for immunology research?
Natural killer (NK) cells are traditionally considered to be innate immune players. In this Review, J. C. Sun and L. L. Lanier summarize the principles of NK cell development, homeostasis and function, and draw parallels between NK cell and CD8+T cell biology. From a fascinating discussion it appears that the borders between innate and adaptive immunity are not as well defined as previously thought.
Each tissue in our body contains a unique microenvironment that can differentially shape immune reactivity. In this Review article, Shiet al. describe how organ-specific factors influence natural killer cell homing and phenotype, and discuss the local molecular and cellular interactions that determine the protective or pathogenic functions of natural killer cells in the different tissues.
Unexpected and controversial results regarding the functional organization of the T cell synapse have been obtained from the single molecule imaging techniques that have recently become available.
Haematopoietic stem cells are a rare, self-renewing population that give rise to all cells of the immune system. In this Review, the authors describe how the haematopoietic stem cell compartment is shaped by infection and inflammation, and discuss the therapeutic implications of this.
This article discusses the evidence in support of the simultaneous activation of angiogenesis and immunosuppression in a homeostatic tissue repair programme and proposes that these normal biological processes are co-opted by tumours to enhance tumour growth.
