Volume 14 Issue 7, July 2014

Bacteria-induced recruitment of neutrophils could have a role in the pathogenesis of graft-versus-host disease.

The liver clears commensal bacteria that have breached intestinal defences.

Combining CXCR2 blockade with PD1 blockade overcomes multiple mechanisms of tumour immune evasion.

TFEB is an evolutionarily ancient transcription factor that regulates the host response to bacterial infections.

Interleukin-9 secreted by T helper 9 cells impairs intestinal barrier function and exacerbates ulcerative colitis.

The type 2 cytokines IL-4 and IL-13 induce beige fat thermogenesis through catecholamine secretion by alternatively activated macrophages.

T cell subsets have unique metabolic needs. In this Review, the authors explain how metabolic pathways are interconnected with signalling pathways that mediate the activation and differentiation of discrete T cell subsets. They suggest that a better understanding of this complexity will lead to more targeted therapies for immune regulation.

Inflammation can promote the development of lymphoid structures in tissue sites at which they do not normally occur. Here, the authors discuss how these ectopic lymphoid-like structures arise and, furthermore, how they affect immune responses in the setting of infection and disease.

In this Review, the authors discuss how innate immune mechanisms can contribute to the development of neurodegenerative disease. They suggest that both local and systemic inflammation can drive pathological microglial cell activity, thereby leading to neuronal cell dysfunction and disease.

Mast cell granules contain numerous immunomodulatory compounds that are rapidly released in various inflammatory settings. Here, the authors describe the composition, biogenesis and maturation of mast cell granules, and they focus on the biological effects of the mast cell proteases that are released.

Follicular dendritic cells (FDCs) in lymph nodes support the development of high-affinity antibody responses by retaining antigens at their cell surface for long periods of time. Although FDCs are generally regarded as 'accessory cells' in the germinal centre, recent data suggest that they have more active roles in the development of humoral immune responses. This Review focuses on our current understanding of FDCs.

The technological revolution in vaccination — from the empirical approach pioneered by Jenner and Pasteur to the recent developments in structural and reverse vaccinology, combined with synthetic biology — promises great hope for the development of safer and more effective vaccines against all infectious diseases.