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This article aims to educate immunologists about the key role of neutrophils in the initiation of immune responses, and it describes how, in contrast to conventional wisdom, neutrophils mount responses specific to their environment, making them potential targets to treat inflammation.
The CATERPILLER family of proteins, like the mammalian Toll-like receptors, are sensors of microbial products and regulators of the immune reponse. Genetic defects in CATERPILLER genes are associated with various immunological disorders, including hereditary periodic fevers, indicating that CATERPILLERs are important in regulating inflammatory responses.
Cellular caspase-8 (FLICE)-like inhibitory protein (cFLIP) was originally identified as an inhibitor of death-receptor signalling. However, this Review discusses new data indicating that cFLIP is also required for the survival and proliferation of T cells following T-cell-receptor stimulation.
The authors of this article describe the role of tertiary lymphoid organs in sustaining chronic inflammatory disease and compare the induction and function of such lymphoid neogenesis with that of conventional secondary lymphoid organs.
Mast-cell activation is a key event in allergic reactions and largely results from signalling through the high-affinity receptor for IgE. However, complementary signalling pathways might also influence mast-cell-mediator release and might be activated by other receptors, such as KIT.
Control of virus infection usually requires both cellular and humoral immune responses. This Review outlines the role of virus-specific antibodies in combating viral infections, using lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus as a model non-cytopathic virus and vesicular stomatitis virus as a model acutely cytopathic virus.
In this Opinion article, the authors propose that liver disease occurring in patients with inflammatory bowel disease is mediated by aberrant homing of gut-derived T cells to the liver, owing to abnormal expression of chemokines and adhesion molecules.
