Volume 10 Issue 5, May 2010

Genetic evidence that AIM2 is a crucial sensor of certain intracellular pathogens.

Cytomegalovirus superinfections require evasion of the CD8⁺T cell response.

TIM4-mediated clearance of apoptotic cells prevents autoimmune responses.

High antigen levels and IL-2 push T cells to respond to liver sinusoidal endothelial cells.

Different LNSC subsets express distinct endogenous antigens for peripheral tolerance.

Endogenous TLR4 ligands released by stressed neurons promote seizures.

Tumours shift the host immune response to tolerogenic through a chemokine pathway normally involved in maintaining tolerance in the lymph node stroma.

Protective role for NLRP3 inflammasome pathway against colitis.

An overview of the articles in this Focus issue on therapeutic antibodies.

Helping to identify the darker side of therapeutic antibodies.

Therapeutic antibodies have already improved the lives of many people living with autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and Crohn's disease. But there is still room for improvement. Here, the authors review how the current therapeutic antibodies work and how they might be enhanced to increase efficacy and extend their use.

Monoclonal antibodies have shown considerable success as cancer therapeutics. This Focus article describes how these molecules promote tumour eradication by targeting the tumour itself or by targeting cells of the immune system. The authors also discuss the clinical potential of new antibody therapies.

FcγRIIB is the only inhibitory Fc receptor for IgG, common genetic variants of which are associated with susceptibility to autoimmune disease but, also, with protection from severe malaria. Furthermore, understanding the function of FcγRIIB has important implications for the use of therapeutic antibodies.

More than 30 monoclonal antibody-based therapies have been approved for clinical use in the past 25 years. By looking at the strategies that have been used by pharmaceutical companies to develop these products, this Timeline article provides insight into the challenges that will be faced in developing the next generation of therapeutic antibodies.

Advances in microscopy and labelling technologies have provided new opportunities for visualizing host–pathogen interactions in action. This Review highlights some of the insights gained from imaging immune responses to pathogens in the context of intact tissues.

This Review article describes how a subset of nuclear receptors can antagonize pro-inflammatory gene expression, through transrepression mechanisms in macrophages and microglia, and regulate the differentiation and activation of inflammatory helper T cells, particularly T helper 17 cells.

The discovery of how to make monoclonal antibodies 35 years ago has revolutionized science and medicine, with more than 30 antibody-based products currently approved as biological agents for the treatment of many immune-mediated diseases and cancer. This Focus issue brings together specially commissioned articles on the basic biology of antibody receptors and on the important advances and further prospects for the development of more efficient, affordable and safer therapeutic antibodies.