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Emerging data suggest a lymphoid origin of plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs), which, in most cases, do not share the classical functional properties of myeloid dendritic cells. This Comment proposes that pDCs should be assigned to a subcategory of innate lymphocytes and should be referred to as interferon-producing cells.
Specialized macrophages that reside near the parenchyma of the central nervous system regulate the flow of cerebrospinal fluid and showed impaired activity in older animals and in the setting of neurodegenerative disease.
The RNA polymerase III subunit TFIIIA transcribes 5S ribosomal RNA pseudogenes that activate RIG-I. Mutations affecting TFIIIA impair antiviral immune responses and are associated with herpes simplex encephalitis.
Mucosal-associated invariant T (MAIT) cells are present in the meninges and help to maintain normal neural function by preserving meningeal barrier homeostasis and integrity.
Under conditions of endoplasmic reticulum stress, tumour cells release cholesterol-containing extracellular vesicles that promote the immunosuppressive functions of myeloid-derived suppressor cells.
A preprint by Ma et al. investigates the mechanism of antigen spreading induced by a vaccine-boosted CAR T cell approach, which has implications for the therapeutic challenges associated with tumour heterogeneity or tumour antigen loss.
Patients with autoimmune diseases, such as multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, type 1 diabetes and systemic lupus erythematosus, have distinct gut microbiota compositions compared to healthy controls. This Review explores how the gut microbiota influence autoimmune responses in extra-intestinal autoimmune diseases and discusses potential preventative and therapeutic strategies targeted at the microbiota–immune interface.
The cytokine thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP) has pleiotropic functions beyond allergic diseases and T helper 2-type immune responses. Here, the authors highlight the roles of TSLP — beneficial or deleterious — in infectious disease, chronic inflammatory disease and cancer by acting on many different cell types.
IL-17 cytokines drive biological responses that protect the host against many infections but can also contribute to host pathology in the context of infection and autoimmunity. Here, Kingston Mills highlights the different cellular sources of IL-17 and compares the pathological versus protective functions of these cytokines.
Mast cells are complex immune cells with varied functions. This Perspective explores the divergent phenotypes and functions of mast cells resulting from both their hard-wired ‘nature’ defined by their ontogeny and the ‘nurture’ they receive within specialized tissue microenvironments.
