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M cells sample gut lumenal antigens and microbes to induce gut immune responses. A novel population of stromal cell—the M cell inducers—are essential for sustaining M cell differentiation and bacteria-specific production of immunoglobulin A to maintain the gut–immune system symbiosis.
The transcription factor STAT5 acts as an oncoprotein in B cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia, competing with the transcription factors NF-κB and Ikaros for binding to DNA.
Monocytes recruited to the peritoneum under conditions of a type 2 inflammatory reaction can convert into resident-type macrophages under the control of vitamin A.
RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) take control of binary cell-fate 'decisions' and cellular identity in lymphoid organs, as the RBP ZFP36L1 is shown to negatively regulate the stability of the transcription factors KLF2 and IRF8 to control the maintenance, survival and localization of marginal zone B cells.
Although interleukin 17 (IL-17) has modest activity on its own, it has a substantial impact in immunity through its synergistic action with other factors and its self-sustaining feedback loop. Veldhoen discusses the role of IL-17 during infections.
IRE1α is a stress sensor that is activated by a high-fat diet. In adipose-tissue macrophages, it serves as a major switch toward pro-inflammatory M1 polarization and thereby contributes to obesity and associated diseases.
The immune system employs a multitude of molecules, cells and organs that act together throughout the entire body to guard human health. Much like in a social network, immune cells can exert full functionality only through effective collaboration and communication.
The transcription factor IRF4 acts as a 'rheostat' for TCR signaling. Discrete levels of IRF4 can activate distinct transcriptional programs in T cells due to binding sites of variable affinity in groups of target genes.
The short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) acetate and butyrate, which are released from specialized diets by gut microbes, protect non-obese diabetic (NOD) mice against insulitis and slow the progression of diabetes.
Antibodies to neutralizing epitopes on hemagglutinin exhibit reproducible dynamic immunodominance patterns over time. Early responses target largely the Cb site, followed by Sb dominance and a concomitant rise in the diversity of neutralizing-antibody specificities.
THEMIS, the enigmatic regulator of T cell selection in the thymus, controls selection by oxidizing and suppressing the activity of the tyrosine phosphatase SHP-1.
Throughout ontogeny, the γδ TCR repertoire in human blood becomes less diverse and more focused, yet is private in nature, and specific adult γδ T cell subsets undergo substantial clonal expansion after challenge with cytomegalovirus.
O’Shea and colleagues review recent advances in Jak–STAT biology, focusing on immune cell function, disease etiology and therapeutic intervention, as well as broader principles of gene regulation and signal-dependent transcription factors.
Microglia are by far the best-characterized macrophages in the CNS, but non-parenchymal populations, such as those found in the meninges, are being increasingly studied. Prinz et al. review the ontogeny and functions of both parenchymal macrophages and non-parenchymal macrophages the CNS.
Silencing of the chromatin remodeler Mi-2β in keratinocytes triggers local skin inflammation. Regulatory T cells activated by the cytokine TSLP control the shift from local skin inflammation to systemic lethal disease.
