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At low levels of oxygen at sites of tissue infection, innate immune cells can adapt to survive and even enhance their antimicrobial functions. Recent studies show how this is controlled by hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) downstream of nuclear factor-κB activation.
This Review looks at how immune events in the secondary lymphoid organs can be influenced by the non-haematopoietic stromal cells that support the microarchitecture of the lymph nodes and spleen. Specialized subsets of stromal cells can provide regional control to nurture or direct the most appropriate responses to pathogens.
This Review describes the recent insights gained from studies of knockout mice indicating that Rho family GTPases and their regulators transduce signals from receptors for antigen, chemokines and adhesion molecules, making them key components of lymphocyte development, activation and migration.
Grant McFadden and colleagues discuss how the interferons and tumour necrosis factor can establish an intracellular antiviral state that determines the specificity of a particular virus for a specific cell type, tissue or species. Our knowledge of these antiviral cytokines can be exploited to enhance immunity against zoonotic infections and to improve the therapeutic specificity of tumour-targeted viruses.
Here, Michael Cancro proposes a model to explain how B cell fate is determined by balancing signals that select B cells of suitable reactivity with signals that support survival. This balance is said to be mediated by crosstalk between the mediators downstream of the B cell receptor (BCR) and receptor for B cell-activating factor (BAFFR).
Understanding how memory T cells develop has important implications for vaccine design. Here,Nature Reviews Immunologyasks four leading researchers in this field their thoughts on the ontogeny and lineage relationships of memory T cells.