Focus 01 June 2016

Innate lymphoid cells

Innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) are a recently described family of lymphoid effector cells with important roles in immunological defense and tissue remodeling. Nature Immunology presents a series of specially commissioned articles that discuss the evolution, development, functional diversity and immunotherapeutic potential of ILCs. In collaboration with Nucleus Medical Media, Nature Immunology has also produced an animation that shows the complexity of ILC biology in the gut at steady state and during disease.
Produced with support from MedImmune

Content

A versatile cell population

Innate lymphoid cells serve multiple roles in maintaining tissue homeostasis and responding to tissue insults and can contribute to chronic inflammatory diseases.

Editorial21 Jun 2016 Nature Immunology
Innate lymphoid cells in defense, immunopathology and immunotherapy

Targeting innate lymphoid cells, the innate counterparts of T cells, might help direct an appropriate immune response during preventive and therapeutic strategies aimed at pathogens and inflammatory pathologies
- Sascha Cording
- Jasna Medvedovic
- Gérard Eberl
Comment21 Jun 2016 Nature Immunology
NK cells and type 1 innate lymphoid cells: partners in host defense

NK cells and ILC1s are developmentally distinct but share many functional similarities. Spits and colleagues describe current knowledge on the biology of these cells and the conditions under which they can be distinguished.
- Hergen Spits
- Jochem H Bernink
- Lewis Lanier
Review Article21 Jun 2016 Nature Immunology
Innate lymphoid cells as regulators of immunity, inflammation and tissue homeostasis

In this Review, Klose and Artis focus on how group 2 ILC and group 3 ILC responses are regulated and how they interact with other immune and non-immune cells to mediate their functions.
- Christoph S N Klose
- David Artis
Review Article21 Jun 2016 Nature Immunology
Development of innate lymphoid cells

Innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) arise from distinct hematopoietic progenitors. Zook & Kee discuss the transcriptional programs that direct the development of natural killer cells and various ILC subsets.
- Erin C Zook
- Barbara L Kee
Review Article21 Jun 2016 Nature Immunology
Innate lymphoid cell function in the context of adaptive immunity

The redundant or specialized roles of innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) relative to those of T cells in vivo remain hard to delineate experimentally. Bando and Colonna review the current understanding of the specialized in vivo functions of ILCs and discuss the genetic mouse models used to assess the contributions of ILCs versus those of T cells.
- Jennifer K Bando
- Marco Colonna
Perspective21 Jun 2016 Nature Immunology
The evolution of innate lymphoid cells

The appearance of innate lymphoid cells was a major step in the evolution of vertebrate immunity. In their Perspective, Vivier et al. survey these cells in evolution and their functional inter-relationship with conventional T cells and B cells.
- Eric Vivier
- Serge A van de Pavert
- Gabrielle T Belz
Perspective21 Jun 2016 Nature Immunology

Innate lymphoid cells

Content

A versatile cell population

Innate lymphoid cells in defense, immunopathology and immunotherapy

NK cells and type 1 innate lymphoid cells: partners in host defense

Innate lymphoid cells as regulators of immunity, inflammation and tissue homeostasis

Development of innate lymphoid cells

Innate lymphoid cell function in the context of adaptive immunity

The evolution of innate lymphoid cells

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