20 years of Nature Immunology

Twenty years ago, a new immunology journal was launched. The editors now celebrate the anniversary of Nature Immunology by looking at the past, present and future.

Frank Carbone describes how his lab identified a new class of memory T cells that permanently reside in the tissues.

Paola Ricciardi-Castagnoli describes how her groups’ focus on mucosal immunity led to the discovery of how dendritic cells sense the gut microbiota to maintain homeostasis.

Nature Immunology’s 20^th anniversary is a good opportunity to reminisce about the ImmGen collective endeavor — its goals, successes and horror stories — and the group’s exploration of various modes of scientific publishing.

Fred Ramsdell and Alexander Rudensky revisit the discovery of the Foxp3 gene and its foundational role in the differentiation and function of regulatory T cells.

Takashi Fujita’s discovery of RNA helicases as intracellular viral replication sensors illustrates how scientific knowledge develops in logical — and sometimes illogical — ways.

Katerina Akassoglou recounts how her work on the mechanisms and functions of blood leaks in the brain led to the discovery of fibrin-targeting immunotherapy.

In October 2005, we, alongside the laboratory of Casey Weaver, identified a third type of helper T cells that produce the cytokine IL-17, important for the regulation of tissue inflammation.

Casey Weaver recounts how his group’s discovery of the T_H17 pathway resolved several conundrums that had arisen in the wake of the original T_H1–T_H2 hypothesis.

Laurie Glimcher and colleagues recount their work that showed how the transcription factor XBP1 and the UPR signaling pathway are interconnected during plasma cell differentiation.