Inflammasomes are signalling machines that drive inflammation. This Review highlights the signalling biology of inflammasomes and how we can use small molecules or biologics to block pathological inflammasome signalling to treat or prevent diverse human diseases.

Oral tolerance describes how the oral administration of harmless antigens (such as dietary proteins) leads to systemic immune unresponsiveness to these antigens. Its failure can lead to conditions such as food allergies. This Review from Cerovic, Pabst and Mowat explores new insights into the mechanisms of oral tolerance, discussing how ingested antigens enter and are processed in the intestine, the roles for unique antigen-presenting cells and the induction of immunosuppressive T cell populations. The authors also examine the maintenance of tolerance to bacterial antigens in the intestine, and they discuss the mechanisms behind the failure of oral tolerance and potential clinical interventions.

This Review provides an overview of the immune system of the eye at steady state and in ocular disease, and it describes the links between ocular immunology and systemic disease. It highlights the intravital imaging techniques that have provided insights into immune cell morphology and dynamics in living human eyes.

This Review discusses the different mechanisms of antibody-dependent enhancement (ADE) of infectious disease, including how antibodies can increase the pathogen load, protect bacteria from the immune system and amplify inflammation. The authors also highlight the role of autoantibodies and consider how a better understanding of ADE can be used to improve vaccines and treatments for infectious diseases.