Volume 12 Issue 3, March 2012

Autophagosome formation accompanies inflammasome activation and acts to limit inflammasome activity.

T-bet and EOMES control unique checkpoints in NK cell maturation, whereas NKp46 and Helios tune NK cell reactivity.

STAT5 inhibits follicular helper T cell differentiation by targeting BLIMP1.

Immune synapse formation is impaired in human self-reactive CD4⁺T cell clones.

Changes in the gut microbiota owing to inflammasome deficiency promote chronic inflammatory liver disease.

The metalloproteinase ADAM17 maintains the epidermal barrier through basal Notch activation.

CXCR2 and CXCL5 control neutrophil homeostasis by downregulating IL-17A and G-CSF.

Peripherally induced T_Regcells prevent allergic inflammation at mucosal surfaces.

How are regulatory T (T_Reg) cells selected in the thymus? What is the role of T cell receptor specificity in the generation of self antigen-specific T_Reg cells? What is the involvement of thymic antigen-presenting cells in T_Reg cell differentiation and how is FOXP3 expression induced in developing thymocytes? Here, the authors summarize the latest findings in the field of T_Regcells to provide answers to these long-standing questions.

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) have a central role in the initiation of innate and adaptive immune responses. Recent studies have shown that various accessory molecules are required for the biosynthesis and/or activation of several TLRs. A detailed knowledge of these accessory molecules is necessary to better understand the function of TLRs in the immune system.

Here, the authors discuss the biological role of interleukin-2 (IL-2) in the immune system, focusing on recent advances in our understanding of how IL-2 signals have different effects on various T cell populations and how this knowledge can be harnessed in the clinic.

The authors use flow cytometry of peripheral blood mononuclear cells as an example to outline the approaches to assay standardization that will be required to realize the full potential of immunophenotyping as a research tool and in the clinic.

The tolerogenic properties of the liver make it an attractive site for infection by pathogens. This Review describes how most pathogens are effectively controlled by immune responses in the liver, and how some pathogens, such as hepatitis viruses and malaria-causing parasites, can establish chronic infections in the liver.

In this Opinion article, Blander and Sander examine how the immune system is able to distinguish between viable and dead, pathogenic and non-pathogenic, or invading and colonizing microorganisms. They propose five immune checkpoints that can be used to determine the relative threat of a particular microbial encounter.