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Boss and colleagues provide mechanistic insight into cell-division-coupled transcriptional and epigenetic reprogramming events during plasma cell differentiation.
The contribution of stromal cells to the microenvironment of tumor-draining lymph nodes is poorly characterized. By comparative transcriptional analysis, Shields and colleagues find that tumors induce the stromal reprogramming of key pathways that affect the structure and function of such lymph nodes.
Austen and colleagues assess the transcriptional profiles of mast cells isolated from peripheral connective tissues and basophils isolated from spleen and blood. Mast cells show a unique tissue profile and minimal homology with basophils or other immunocytes.
Invariant natural killer T cells recognize lipid antigens presented by CD1d molecules and are capable of copious cytokine production. Kronenberg and colleagues show that distinct transcriptional and epigenetic profiles can be ascribed to the NKT1, NKT2 and NKT17 subsets of these cells.
Using a systems-biology approach, Liston and colleagues profile the
immune system of 670 healthy volunteers to provide a description of the
population-level heterogeneity in the cellular composition of the circulating immune
system.
Several populations of innate lymphoid cells have been identified by their cytokine and transcription factor expression. Mjösberg and colleagues report considerable heterogeneity within human tonsil innate lymphoid cell subpopulations, as revealed by single-cell RNA-sequencing profiling.
Vaccination offers protection against infectious diseases, yet pre-existing criteria that predict vaccine efficacy or adverse events remain unknown. Hayday and colleagues identify cellular and molecular signatures in humans immunized with adjuvanted swine flu vaccine.
Long non-coding RNAs contribute to the regulation of gene expression. Crooks and colleagues profile the long non-coding RNA transcriptome during the specification and development of human lymphocytes.
Proteomic profiling can provide new insight into the cellular regulation of effector functions. Cantrell and colleagues report discordant mRNA profiles and protein profiles in activated CD8+ T cells and reveal new roles for mTORC1 in regulating the function of cytotoxic T lymphocytes.
The process of B cell differentiation into plasma cells involves dramatic cellular reprogramming. Corcoran and colleagues profile the transcriptome of all stages of B cell differentiation through to antibody-secreting plasma cells.
The classification of some subsets of innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) is unclear. Colonna and colleagues use transcriptional profiling to show unique gene-expression patterns for some ILCs and overlapping patterns between ILC1 and NK cells.
Long intergenic noncoding RNAs (lincRNAs) contribute to the regulation of gene expression. Pagani and colleagues identify hundreds of unique lincRNAs expressed in human lymphocytes and demonstrate a role for the lincRNA linc-MAF-4 in the differentiation of CD4+ T cells.
Myeloid cells show great phenotypic and functional diversity. Newell and colleagues use mass cytometry with a panel of 38 mouse myeloid markers to describe myeloid cell phenotypic diversity in unprecedented depth within eight different tissues.
High endothelial vessels (HEVs) provide the conduit for blood-borne leukocytes to enter lymph nodes. Butcher and colleagues report transcriptional profiles of various endothelial cell populations that can explain functional differences of homing-molecule modifications.
Genome-wide epigenetic analyses can yield new insights into disease pathways. Vijayanand and colleagues mapped transcriptional enhancers in human T cells from healthy and asthmatic individuals and identify asthma-specific TH2 cell–associated enhancers.
The transcription factor Foxp3 is essential for the function of regulatory T cells (Treg cells). Rudensky and colleagues show binding of Foxp3 poises target genes for repression and, after activation of Treg cells, recruits the histone methyltransferase Ezh2.
Pulendran and colleagues use a systems biology analysis to reveal distinct transcriptional signatures of antibody responses to different classes of human vaccines.
Dendritic cells (DCs) that orchestrate mucosal immunity have been studied in mice. Lahl and colleagues characterize human gut DC populations and define their relationship to previously described human and mouse DCs.
Intergenic long noncoding RNAs (lincRNAs) regulate gene expression in various tissues. Zhao and colleagues identify 1,524 lincRNA clusters in thymocytes and mature T cell subsets and reveal dynamic and cell-specific patterns of lincRNA expression during T cell differentiation.
Silva-Santos and colleagues use genome-wide characterization of the methylation patterns of histone H3 and analysis of transcription factor expression to identify the regulatory framework of peripheral interferon-γ-producing or interleukin 17–producing γδ T cell subsets.