Nature Reviews Immunology 9, 811 (2009). doi:10.1038/nri2654

Authors: Jeffrey A. Bluestone, Charles R. Mackay, John J. O'Shea & Brigitta Stockinger

In 1986, Robert Coffman and Timothy Mossman first described the division of CD4+ T cells into functional subsets, termed T helper 1 (TH1) and TH2, based on cytokine production, and in doing so unwittingly opened a Pandora's box of

Nature Reviews Immunology 9, 789 (2009). doi:10.1038/nri2638

Authors: Joost B. Beltman, Athanasius F. M. Marée & Rob J. de Boer

The visualization of the dynamic behaviour of and interactions between immune cells using time-lapse video microscopy has an important role in modern immunology. To draw robust conclusions, quantification of such cell migration is required. However, imaging experiments are associated with various artefacts that can affect

Nature Reviews Immunology 9, 752 (2009). doi:10.1038/nri2658

Author: Gemma Ryan

During infection, draining lymph nodes undergo growth and remodelling to facilitate the interactions between immune cells. These morphological changes in the lymphoid tissue are thought to be induced by cytokines released at the site of immune challenge; however, it is not known how the cytokines

Nature Reviews Immunology 9, 754 (2009). doi:10.1038/nri2659

Author: Kirsty Minton

Regulatory T (TReg) cells provide tailor-made control of the immune response, according to new research by Alexander Rudensky and colleagues. Effector CD4+ T cells differentiate into functionally distinct T helper (TH) cell populations — TH1, TH

Nature Reviews Immunology 9, 751 (2009). doi:10.1038/nri2661

Author: Olive Leavy

Weak interactions between T cell receptors (TCRs) and self-peptide–MHC complexes induce positive selection of double-positive thymocytes in the thymus. Naturally occurring self peptides involved in positive selection have been identified only for CD8+ T cells. Now, two papers published in Nature Immunology

Nature Reviews Immunology 9, 757 (2009). doi:10.1038/nri2644

Author: Cecile King

The seminal studies characterizing T follicular helper (TFH) cells described a non-polarized CD4+ T cell population with a unique ability to home to B cell follicles and to induce antibody production by B cells. In the past few years, the study

Nature Reviews Immunology 9, 799 (2009). doi:10.1038/nri2653

Author: Jerrold R. Turner

Mucosal surfaces are lined by epithelial cells. These cells establish a barrier between sometimes hostile external environments and the internal milieu. However, mucosae are also responsible for nutrient absorption and waste secretion, which require a selectively permeable barrier. These functions place the mucosal epithelium at

Nature Reviews Immunology 9, 778 (2009). doi:10.1038/nri2655

Author: Manolis Pasparakis

The nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) signalling pathway regulates immune responses and is implicated in the pathogenesis of many inflammatory diseases. Given the well established pro-inflammatory functions of NF-κB, inhibition of this pathway would be expected to have anti-inflammatory effects. However, recent studies in mouse models have

Nature Reviews Immunology 9, 767 (2009). doi:10.1038/nri2656

Authors: Shiv Pillai & Annaiah Cariappa

Bone marrow-derived B cells make an important cell fate choice to develop into either follicular B cells or marginal zone B cells in the spleen, which depends on signalling through the B cell receptor, Notch2, the receptor for B cell-activating factor and the canonical nuclear

Nature Reviews Immunology 9, 755 (2009). doi:10.1038/nri2662

Author: Ruth Williams

As far as the immune system is concerned, the gut is full of bacterial friends and foes: commensal microorganisms must be tolerated, whereas pathogens must be expelled. At the front line, maintaining this balance, are dendritic cells (DCs). Two groups reporting in Immunity have

Nature Reviews Immunology 9, 752 (2009). doi:10.1038/nri2663

Author: Lucy Bird

A study involving real-time imaging of effector T cells provides new insight into how autoreactive T cells interact with cerebral structures and access the central nervous system (CNS) to cause autoimmune disease.Flügel and colleagues induced experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis in rats with intravenous injection of

Nature Reviews Immunology 9, 749 (2009). doi:10.1038/nri2664

Immunologists have become more adept at distinguishing different types of B and T cell, leading to new questions about the functions and differentiation pathways of these cells. Understanding how these phenotypes arise and interact holds the promise of more effective immunotherapies and vaccines with fewer

Nature Reviews Immunology 9, 753 (2009). doi:10.1038/nri2665

Author: Alexandra Flemming

Tumours can avert an immune response and boost their own growth by inducing the expression of immunosuppressive, angiogenic and growth factors by neighbouring cells. Reporting in Nature Biotechnology, Kortylewski and colleagues now present a new strategy to alter the balance in the tumour microenvironment

Nature Reviews Immunology 9, 752 (2009). doi:10.1038/nri2666

Innate immunity

Nature Reviews Immunology 9, 754 (2009). doi:10.1038/nri2667

Immune tolerance

Nature Reviews Immunology 9, 755 (2009). doi:10.1038/nri2668

Author: Olive Leavy

An announcement, by researchers from the US Army and Thailand, at a recent press conference of the first positive results from an HIV vaccine trial was met with media fanfare but cautious optimism from scientists.The RV 144 vaccine, which combines two vaccines (ALVAC and