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Siglecs are sialic acid-binding cell-surface proteins that can help the immune system to distinguish between self and non-self. In this Review, the authors describe how Siglecs can modulate immune cell signalling, outline the role of Siglecs in disease and discuss targeting Siglecs for therapeutic purposes.
In this Review, the authors describe the unique and varied immune microenvironments that are found along the length of the intestinal tract. They explain how both host-derived and environmental factors shape this regional specialization and discuss the implications for intestinal pathologies, such as inflammatory bowel diseases and cancers.
This Review details how the activation of airway epithelial cells and innate immune cells can drive chronic diseases of the lungs, such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The authors discuss how a better understanding of the mechanisms involved is leading to new treatments for these diseases.
Reiner and Adams propose a deterministic scenario for diversifying the fates of the cellular progeny of a single antigen-selected lymphocyte, with an element of plasticity based on the nature of the pathogen and the number of responding cells.
Studies in mice indicate that targeting antigens to dendritic cells (DCs) can elicit strong CD4+T cell responses. In this Opinion article, the authors summarize the existing DC-targeting approaches; they discuss whether these vaccines are superior to current vaccines and what future studies should entail to successfully introduce these vaccines into a clinical setting.