Volume 20 Issue 3, March 2020

The host aryl hydrocarbon receptor can detect various quorum-sensing molecules produced by Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which may allow host immune cells to tune their response according to the bacterial density.

The ‘shock-and-kill’ strategy aims to eradicate HIV by luring the virus out of hiding, followed by killing of the virus and any infected cells. Two reports now demonstrate robust approaches to achieve the first step of such a strategy.

Hai Qi describes a 2007 paper by Jason Cyster and colleagues that identified PD1 as a marker for T follicular helper cells.

VEGF-C enhances T cell priming against brain tumours and improves the efficacy of immune checkpoint blockade in a model of glioblastoma.

Plant root cells upregulate pattern recognition receptors for bacteria in response to damage to neighbouring cells.

Researchers identify a new population of cytotoxic T cells that recognize the non-polymorphic MHC class I-related molecule MR1 on multiple different cancer cells, raising the prospect of its use as T cell-based therapy for multiple cancers.

The gasdermin family of proteins has the capacity to form pores in the membrane, causing a pro-inflammatory lytic type of cell death called pyroptosis, This Review provides a comprehensive overview of the gasdermin family, the mechanisms that control their activation and their role in inflammatory disorders and cancer.

Therapies based on adoptive cellular transfer of regulatory T (T_reg) cells are currently undergoing clinical trials for autoimmune diseases, graft-versus-host disease and the prevention of transplant rejection. This Review provides an overview of T_reg cell biology and discusses the latest approaches to enhance T_reg cells for therapeutic purposes.

The co-inhibitory receptor TIM3 can serve as a marker of exhausted T cells. Here, the authors investigate the biology of TIM3, discussing its various ligands, signalling pathways and association with human disease. They also provide an overview of emerging clinical data regarding its potential as an anticancer target in combination with PD1 blockade.

This Review by Handel and colleagues focuses on how simulation modelling can be used to interrogate the immune system. The authors provide an overview of different model types and encourage immunologists to build their own models.

As we age, haematopoiesis becomes skewed towards myelopoiesis. Studies of haematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) transplanted into irradiated recipient mice imply that HSC defects are responsible for this ageing effect. Here, the authors urge caution when using irradiated mice to study haematopoiesis ageing, and propose instead that age-related changes in the bone marrow environment and in downstream progenitors, not just HSCs, may also be responsible for myeloid skewing.