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Various neurotrophic pathogens are capable of infecting CNS tissues. Klein and colleagues review how immune responses and inflammation in the CNS affect brain function and mental status.
Engelhardt and colleagues review barriers separating blood from CSF and CNS parenchyma, how pathways draining solutes from CNS to lymph nodes exclude trafficking of antigen-presenting cells and how intravital microscopy has influenced debate on immune privilege of the CNS.
Macrophages are critical for granuloma formation, but the cell-intrinsic mechanisms remain unknown. Weichhart and colleagues demonstrate that chronic mTOR activity leads to macrophage-dependent granuloma formation, which may have relevance to sarcoidosis.
Skin is constantly exposed to environmental stressors. Georgopoulos and colleagues show that regulatory T cells respond to the cytokine TSLP produced by stressed keratinocytes and that a loss of skin Treg cell expression of TSLPR leads to lethal inflammation.
The cytokine IL-1β has well-established harmful effects on pancreatic islet function. Donath and colleagues identify an acute wave of postprandial IL-1β release and show that this unexpectedly has a positive effect on insulin secretion and the maintenance of normal metabolic function.
Enteric neurons and intestinal immune cells co-develop in response to common cues and communicate with each other to maintain organ function and host defense.
The signaling receptor Notch is required for the generation of marginal zone B cells. Hammad and colleagues show that Notch signaling activates the kinase Taok3 and surface expression of the metalloproteinase ADAM10, which commits transitional B cells to the marginal zone B cell fate.