Articles in 2019

Tissue damage in the lungs can lead to the outgrowth of commensal bacterial species that promote fibrotic responses.

Developing universal influenza virus vaccines will require understanding how broad and long-lived antibody responses to natural infection with influenza A virus are generated, a topic that has benefited greatly from technologies that enable the analysis of single human B cells.

The ABC family member ABCF1 has E2 ubiquitin-conjugating activity and regulates Toll-like receptor signalling and macrophage polarization to protect against lethal septic shock.

Emerging data indicate that neutrophils exist in several different ‘flavours’. Here, the authors outline potential underlying mechanisms for the presence of distinct neutrophil subsets in health and disease.

In this Review, Erika Pearce and colleagues detail the metabolic changes that occur in the tumour microenvironment, explaining how these shape immune cell function at these sites. They highlight the potential of targeting these metabolic pathways to treat patients with cancer

As in other immune cells, the metabolic pathways in natural killer (NK) cells must be configured to meet the demands of their effector functions. This Review describes the specific metabolic requirements for NK cell responses and how defects in NK cell metabolism may contribute to NK cell dysfunction in chronic disease.

This study describes a mechanism of tumour immune evasion through post-translational chemokine modification by dipeptidyl peptidase 4, which inhibits eosinophil-mediated antitumour responses.

Stefan Feske and colleagues show that calcium signalling in T_H17 cells promotes a pathogenic phenotype by regulating mitochondrial function and the antioxidant response.

Double-strand breaks in DNA generated during the normal assembly and diversification of lymphocyte antigen receptor genes or by genotoxic agents during infection activate DNA damage responses. Besides repairing damaged DNA, these responses trigger important signalling events that regulate immune cell development and function.

Recent advances in systems immunology are beginning to elucidate the quantitative rules that govern cytokine-mediated cell-to-cell communication. This Review describes how combining theoretical analysis with experimental validation can lead to a better understanding of cytokine-mediated communication between cells of the immune system.

Natural killer cells can promote degeneration of injured axons and reduce post-injury hypersensitivity following peripheral nerve injury.

A new study in Science identifies nemuri (nur) as encoding a secreted factor in Drosophila that has both antimicrobial and sleep-inducing properties, thus providing a direct link between sleep homeostasis and the response to infection.

Having a fever helps T cells reach the site of infection, thanks to thermal sensing by heat shock proteins and induction of integrin-mediated T cell migration.

Intestinal intraepithelial lymphocytes regulate systemic metabolism by limiting the bioavailability of GLP1.

The short-chain fatty acid butyrate, derived from commensal bacteria in the gut, is shown to be a specific inducer of intestinal macrophage microbicidal functions.

In this Review, DeNardo and Ruffell describe how macrophages shape local immune responses in the tumour microenvironment to both suppress and promote immunity to tumours. The authors also discuss the potential of targeting tumour-associated macrophages to enhance antitumour immune responses.

By sensing environmental, dietary, microbial and metabolic cues, the ligand-activated transcription factor aryl hydrocarbon receptor controls complex transcriptional programmes that are relevant to autoimmune, neoplastic, metabolic and degenerative diseases.

Diversification of the antibody repertoire is well known to be driven by genetic recombination and mutation. However, it is becoming apparent that other processes can also diversify antibody specificities. Here, Dimitrov and colleagues discuss these unconventional strategies for antibody diversification and consider why these extra strategies have evolved.

During an immune response, macrophage metabolism is diverted to produce the metabolite itaconate, which has anti-inflammatory effects. This Review recounts the story of itaconate, from its discovery to its potentially far-reaching consequences for immunity, host defence and tumorigenesis.

Ricardo Gazzinelli describes studies from the late 1980s and early 1990s that looked at the polarization of the recently described T_H1 cell and T_H2 cell subsets in the context of parasite infection.