Volume 11 Issue 7, July 2011

FOXP3⁺macrophages have suppressive functions and promote tumour growth.

NLRP6 inflammasome activation in epithelial cells influences gut colonization.

SAMHD1 is a HIV-1 restriction factor expressed by myeloid cells.

Interferon-inducible IFIT complex binds viral RNAs and promotes antiviral responses.

Increased numbers and suppressive activity of MDSCs during pregnancy results in reduced NK cell cytotoxicity and increased tumour dissemination.

Antigen-specific effector T cell responses are severely muted in mycobacterial granulomas.

Innate lymphoid cells drive airway inflammation following viral infection.

Proliferation of tissue-resident macrophages, rather than recruitment of blood macrophages, marks helminth infection.

The level of VAV1 phosphorylation is a crucial on–off switch for the cytotoxic activity of NK cells.

In the intestine, intraepithelial lymphocytes (IELs) maintain the integrity of the epithelial barrier and provide protection against pathogens. However, IELs may also drive immunopathological responses in patients with coeliac disease or inflammatory bowel disease. Here, the authors discuss the 'light' and 'dark' sides of the intestinal IELs.

TRAF3 is a central component of the TNF and TLR signalling pathways. This Review summarizes the current knowledge on TRAF3-mediated regulation of MAPK and alternative NF-κB pathways and of the type I interferon response in immune cells.

T cell progenitors must receive cues to instruct their homing to and entry into the thymus and, once there, positive and negative selection signals need to be synchronized with signals that control the migration of thymocytes within and out of the thymus. This Review focuses on recent advances in our understanding of thymocyte migration and highlights some outstanding questions.

The development of immune cells is tightly regulated by a series of epigenetic mechanisms. Here, Howard Cedar and Yehudit Bergman discuss the different types of chromatin modifications that determine the fate of haematopoietic stem cells.

In 1950, the function of the thymus was unknown. Jacques F. A. P. Miller describes how research on its immunological role started and gives an overview of the last 50 years of research on the thymus.