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Basophils, often regarded as a lesser relative to the mast cell, are now proving to have important, non-redundant roles in immune responses. This Progress article updates us on the latest studies that identify new roles for basophils in allergic reactions and immune regulation.
How B cells see antigen has been an area of intense research for many years. Here, recent advances in our understanding of the specific sites, cells and molecules that are involved in the presentation of antigen to B cells are discussed.
Targeting invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cells could be a good way to boost vaccine responses, according to recent studies reviewed here. Structural and functional analyses of iNKT-cell ligands are helping to direct approaches that harness the capacity of iNKT cells to enhance immune responses.
This article discusses the recently identified role of SLAM-associated protein (SAP) — which mediates signals from signalling lymphocytic activation molecule (SLAM) receptors — in regulating interactions between lymphocytes in the thymus and germinal centres, and suggests that SAP and SLAM family members have roles in lymphocyte adhesion that affect development and differentiation.
Scaffold proteins are known to have an important role in signal transduction but their mechanisms of activation are still unclear. In this Review, recent studies that have shed light on the function of cytoplasmic scaffold proteins in immune-cell signalling are discussed.
As a result of advances in medicine, public-health policies and socioeconomic development, we are living longer than ever before. Here, the authors describe how ageing affects immune function and discuss the potential of different therapies to slow or reverse this process in the elderly population.
In this Opinion article, the effector function of annexin A1 in the anti-inflammatory action of glucocorticoids is discussed, and a model to address the opposing effects of glucocorticoids on the expression of annexin A1 by different immune cells is proposed.
