Articles in 2014

Group 2 innate lymphoid cells promote beiging of adipose tissue and protect against obesity.

Bacteria in the gut that cross-react with malarial parasites can induce the production of protective natural antibodies.

NLRC4 activation bySalmonellaalters cytoskeletal dynamics to reduce intracellular bacterial burden.

Human memory CD4⁺ T cells primed in vivoby pathogens or vaccines are highly heterogeneous.

The discovery that patients with asthma can be dichotomized according to levels of type 2 inflammation, and hence their response to inhibitors of this pathway, promises to enhance our understanding of pathogenic mechanisms and personalized therapies.

Here, two receptors that inhibit T cell functions — programmed cell death protein 1 (PD1) and lymphocyte activation gene 3 protein (LAG3) — are reviewed. Their mechanisms of action are discussed in the context of clinical blockade for cancer therapy and potential biomarkers of the efficacy of therapeutic blockade are proposed.

This Review describes how key metabolic processes are differentially regulated in dendritic cells (DCs), both during their development and during their participation in active immune responses. The authors discuss the importance of these changes in cellular metabolism for DC function and also explain how both intracellular and extracellular metabolites shape DC biology.

In this Review, the authors describe the key epigenetic events that are associated with the differentiation and function of cells of the myeloid lineage, with a particular emphasis on monocytes and macrophages. They detail the epigenetic enzymes that control these events and discuss emerging data that show the importance of epigenetic regulation for 'memory-like' behaviour in innate immune cells.

Periodontitis has been linked to systemic inflammatory conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis. In this Review, the author summarizes these links and discusses the mechanisms of microbial immune subversion that tip the balance from homeostasis to disease at oral or distant sites.

Macrophages capture HIV-1-infected CD4⁺T cells, which results in robust macrophage infection.

Nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors target P2X7-dependent inflammasome activation to mediate anti-inflammatory effects.

Seven new studies advance our understanding of immune checkpoint blockade and highlight an approach for developing personalized cancer vaccines.

An enteric RNA virus can substitute for commensal bacteria and support immune maturation and intestinal homeostasis.

Brozet al. identify a rare intratumoral CD103⁺dendritic cell population that stimulates cytotoxic T cells.