Reviews & Analysis

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  • Feedback inhibition by interferon-γ blocks the NLRP3 inflammasome by triggering inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), and the resulting nitric oxide (NO) thio-nitrosylates NLRP3, shutting it down. This prevents excessive immunopathology during chronic infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

    • Manira Rayamajhi
    • Edward A Miao
    News & Views
  • The mechanisms by which cells detect and fight foreign organisms is crucial for the host defense against infection. The sensing of cytosolic DNA is pivotal in this process, is kept in check by the exonuclease Trex1 and has been linked to lysosomal biogenesis via the transcription factor TFEB in an interferon-independent manner.

    • Anna Katharina Simon
    • Andrea Ballabio
    News & Views
  • Psoriasis is associated with the TH17 subset of helper T cells. Dysregulation of interleukin 17 (IL-17) signaling leads to enhanced TH17 differentiation, more production of IL-22 and IL-22-dependent skin inflammation.

    • Pawan Kumar
    • Jay K Kolls
    News & Views
  • Diseased host cells are eliminated more effectively when natural killer cells grow up in the presence of classical major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I molecules. The nonclassical MHC class I molecule H2-M3 can exert an analogous effect.

    • Werner Held
    News & Views
  • Interleukin 2 (IL-2) and IL-15 use receptors with the same signaling subunits. New structural data show that the signaling complexes they form are topologically nearly identical, which suggests that other factors are responsible for the distinct signaling properties of these complexes.

    • Shinji Ikemizu
    • Mami Chirifu
    • Simon J Davis
    News & Views
  • Mathematical modeling shows that two members of the NF-κB family of transcription factors, RelB and p50, form heterodimers and participate in the canonical NF-κB pathway in dendritic cells.

    • Matthew S Hayden
    News & Views
  • Autoinflammation and immunodeficiency are rare in humans, but the rate of discovery of these conditions has increased. Three patients have now been characterized in whom deficiency in HOIL-1, a component of the LUBAC complex, leads to these conditions.

    • Michael J Ombrello
    • Daniel L Kastner
    • Joshua D Milner
    News & Views
  • Bacterial cyclic dinucleotides are recognized by the innate immune system, and this leads to the induction of type I interferons. The mammalian helicase DDX41 directly binds cyclic dinucleotides and mediates the signaling pathway to the induction of type I interferons.

    • Andrew G Bowie
    News & Views
  • The deubiquitinating enzyme USP25 restricts ubiquitination of the adaptors TRAF5 and TRAF6 and signaling via interleukin 17 and thus joins several ubiquitin-modifying enzymes already known to regulate this biomedically important pathway.

    • Averil I Ma
    News & Views
  • Limiting immune responses is critical for protecting the host from harm. The p110δ isoform of the kinase PI(3)K acts as a balance between pro- and anti-inflammatory TLR4 signaling in dendritic cells.

    • Sabine Siegemund
    • Karsten Sauer
    News & Views
  • The kinase TBK1 participates in signaling pathways that induce antimicrobial responses. TBK1 is also necessary for the suppression of excessive production of immunoglobulin A by accelerating destruction of the kinase NIK.

    • Richard J Bram
    News & Views
  • A fundamental mystery of the biology of germinal center B cells is why it seems that these rapidly dividing B cells lack expression of c-Myc, a transcriptional regulator intimately linked to cell metabolism and proliferation. This mystery has now been resolved.

    • Arthur L Shaffer III
    • Louis M Staudt
    News & Views
  • The secretion of cytokines by helper T cells is affected by the cytokine environment and by costimulatory signals. Engagement of the receptor OX40 on T cells increases expression of the transcription factor TRAF6, activates the alternative transcription factor NF-κB pathway and induces the production of interleukin 9.

    • Ritobrata Goswami
    • Mark H Kaplan
    News & Views