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Gene reassortment confers immunoglobulin diversity. Functional diversity occurs by use of distinct heavy chains. Identification of a previously unknown immunoglobulin gene in zebrafish suggests such functional specialization also occurs in this species and probably in all bony fish.
A new study uses experimental infection of naive macaques with simian immunodeficiency virus containing known cytotoxic T lymphocyte escape mutations to examine the host and viral forces governing reversion or persistence of escape during transmission between hosts.
Self-renewal of hematopoietic stem cells allows life-long production of blood cells. Notch signaling is critically involved in this process by maintaining a pool of self-renewing hematopoietic stem cells.
Calcium signaling is essential during thymocyte development. It seems that calcium oscillations trigger thymocytes to become immotile, prolonging interactions with stromal cells that are critical for positive selection.
Specific docking of the three T cell receptor complementary-determining regions (CDRs) onto the peptide-MHC complex is the basis of immune recognition. However, the contribution of each CDR to peptide-MHC binding is not routine.
It is not clear how lymphocytes establish monoallelic gene expression of antigen receptor genes. New data linking local chromatin modifications with nuclear movements provide a framework for deciphering this process.
The definition of the physiological functions of dendritic cells is undergoing refinement, as specialization of dendritic cell labor depends on their previous encounters.
Lymphocyte lineage specification involves multiple regulatory factors that act in reciprocal fashion to ensure lineage committment and identity. New insights on how these factors interact were presented at the second Aegean Workshop on Gene Regulation in Lymphocyte Development.
Dendritic cells have the unique capacity of processing soluble exogenous proteins for presentation to killer T lymphocytes. Now Cresswell and associates show that this is possible because pinocytosed material gains access to the perinuclear endoplasmic reticulum of dendritic cells.
The signaling pathways distinguishing positive and negative thymic selection are critical for establishing T cell immunity and tolerance. The kinase MINK might be an important component that differentiates these two events.
When confronted with a pathogen, the immune system must develop the appropriate type of immune response. Recent work provides new insight into how regulated gene activation and silencing occurs in helper T cells.
Human skin is surprisingly resistant to colonization by Escherichia coli, a prevalent commensal bacterium of the gut flora. An 11-kDa Zn2+-binding protein, psoriasin, is identified as the principal E. coli–bactericidal factor present at the surface of human skin.
The fourth EMBO workshop on “Lymphocyte antigen receptor and coreceptor signaling” gathered immunologists to share key findings, new questions and emerging trends in the field of cell signaling.
