Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain
the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in
Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles
and JavaScript.
Although tetramer technology has been wildly successful for examination of MHC class I–recognizing T cells, the same hasn't been true for MHC class II reagents. A recent workshop at the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases was convened to address this.
Historical insight: The clonal selection theory of antibody formation has recently been subjected to challenge from many quarters. A review of its history and that of scientific theories in general points to the importance of distinguishing between the central hypotheses of a theory and its subsidiary implications.
A May 2002 workshop in Virginia, USA, focused on dendritic cells. Kelsall and colleagues summarize here some of the outstanding questions raised at the conference.
Higher eukaryotes can mount antiviral immune responses induced by dsRNA. This process, called RNA interference, is sequence specific and can therefore be used to target gene expression.
In memoriam: César Milstein, who with the late Georges Köhler invented monoclonal antibodies, died on 24 March 2002. Their invention sprang from basic research on antibody diversity and specificity, and spawned revolutionary advances in biology, medicine and industry.
Immunologists gather at Asilomar each January in a pleasant and informal setting to discuss recent findings on the development and regulation of immune responses.
The potential of hematopoietic stem cells to generate tissue-specific lineages varies with the criteria used to isolate such cells. New discoveries continue to refine our definition of what a hematopoietic stem cell is and what it can do.
Multiple sources of HSCs exist. Here, Verfaillie discusses the long-term engraftment capabilities of each source and the search for ex vivo expansion conditions to allow bulk culture for therapeutic HSC transplantation.
Transfer of genes into HSCs could be used to treat a variety of diseases from AIDS to cancer. Here Bordignon and Roncarolo discuss the logistics and progress of HSC gene transfer technology for the treatment of different diseases.
One of the major goals of the WHO is elimination of polio, but the nature of rapidly evolving enteroviruses makes this task more complex than it initially appears.
We asked Jack Strominger, a long-time collaborator and friend of Don Wiley's, to share with us the excitement of working out the structures of the major histocompatibility antigens.
For over 75 years, only humoral antibodies were known to mediate immunological specificity. The apparent absence of these in delayed-type hypersensitivity reactions was perplexing, and the dominant dogma of antibodies led to some curious hypotheses.
Natural killer cells have been arbitrarily defined using a number of different phenotypic and functional criteria. We asked Lorenzo Moretta if we have truly discovered the core identity of this critical player in eliciting immune responses.
A recent workshop was convened under the auspices of the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) to examine the relationship of the innate immune system to autoimmune disorders.
Kavathas, Chair of the AAI Committee on the Status of Women (1998–2001) and Soong, a member of this committee, discuss the reasons for gender discrimination against women and what can be done to address the issue.
Historical insight: It is not uncommon in science that a leading figure in a discipline will declare that all its problems have been solved and that there is little left to do. This has happened several times in immunology, but the field has survived each such declaration and continues its exciting course.
The development of increasingly powerful methods to stimulate anti-tumor immune responses carries the risk of breaking tolerance to self and causing autoimmune pathology. How concerned should we be?
In early July 2001 a small meeting was held in Baltimore on the associations of lymphomas with autoimmune conditions. Topics ranged from the effects of defective apoptosis to questions of antigen-drive lymphoproliferation.
Autoimmune diseases are more prevalent in women than men. A new interest in understanding the biology of this difference as well as funding opportunities have focused attention on research priorities in sex differences.
