Hot off the presses! Dec 01 Nat Rev Immunol

The Dec 01 issue of the Nat Rev Immunol is now up on Pubget (About Nat Rev Immunol): if you're at a subscribing institution, just click the link in the latest link at the home page. (Note you'll only be able to get all the PDFs in the issue if your institution subscribes to Pubget.)

Latest Articles Include:

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  - Nat Rev Immunol 11(12):799 (2011)
  
• Inflammation: Under the skin | PDF (276 KB)
  - Nat Rev Immunol 11(12):800 (2011)
  The skin is not just a physical barrier to pathogens; it also actively regulates immune homeostasis. Immune tolerance to commensal microorganisms that reside on the epidermis and immune reactivity against pathogens that penetrate into the dermis are finely tuned to avoid detrimental tissue damage.
• Innate immunity: A new path uncovers a wrongful conviction | PDF (419 KB)
  - Nat Rev Immunol 11(12):801 (2011)
  Inflammasomes serve as scaffolds to promote the activation of caspase 1 and the release of interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and IL-18 in response to various pro-inflammatory stimuli. Now, Vishva Dixit and co-workers have described a 'non-canonical' inflammasome, which engages caspase 11 to trigger the caspase 1-dependent production of pro-inflammatory cytokines and caspase 1-independent pyroptosis.
• Infectious disease: A ray of sunshine for TB treatment | PDF (232 KB)
  - Nat Rev Immunol 11(12):802 (2011)
  A recent study published in Science Translational Medicine shows that vitamin D is required for the antimicrobial response to Mycobacterium tuberculosis in human macrophages — a response induced by T cell-derived interferon-γ (IFNγ).
• Autoimmunity: Linking commensals with autoimmunity | PDF (306 KB)
  - Nat Rev Immunol 11(12):802 (2011)
  Autoimmune disorders develop under the combined influence of environmental and genetic factors. A recent study published in Nature reports that both commensal bacteria and self-antigen recognition are required for the initiation of autoimmune responses in relapsing– remitting experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), a mouse model of multiple sclerosis.
• Dendritic cells: Choosing the right presentation | PDF (934 KB)
  - Nat Rev Immunol 11(12):804 (2011)
  This study by Jonathan Yewdell and colleagues shows the importance of choosing the right type of antigen-presenting cell for an antiviral T cell response. Although both macrophages and dendritic cells (DCs) in the lymph nodes that drain a site of viral infection can be infected and present viral antigens, optimal T cell priming required that T cells preferentially interact with DCs.
• Immune responses: Platelets drive shuttle buggy | PDF (378 KB)
  - Nat Rev Immunol 11(12):804 (2011)
  Platelets are often overlooked by immunologists, but a new study by Verschoor et al. has shown that these blood components affect the course of systemic Listeria monocytogenes infection by promoting the transfer of blood-borne bacteria to splenic CD8α+ dendritic cells (DCs). This function of platelets decreases the rate at which the host is able to clear the bacteria but, importantly, promotes the delivery of bacteria to CD8α+ DCs, enabling the development of adaptive immunity to the infection.
• Cytokines: IL-17C joins the family firm | PDF (230 KB)
  - Nat Rev Immunol 11(12):805 (2011)
  Much interest has focused on the interleukin-17 (IL-17) family of cytokines, mainly stemming from the pro-inflammatory roles that have been described for IL-17A and IL-17F. The biological functions of another family member, IL-17C, have been unclear.
• Mucosal immunology: The 'AHR diet' for mucosal homeostasis | PDF (262 KB)
  - Nat Rev Immunol 11(12):806 (2011)
  There is currently much interest in understanding how diet can influence the composition of gut microbial communities and the mucosal immune system. Two independent studies, published in Science and Cell, have identified important roles for diet-derived ligands of the transcription factor aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) in maintaining intestinal immune function.
• Tumour immunology: How does IL-12 enhance antitumour responses? | PDF (110 KB)
  - Nat Rev Immunol 11(12):801 (2011)
  Transfer of tumour-specific CD8+ T cells that produce interleukin-12 (IL-12) was recently used to effectively treat mice with established tumours, but the underlying mechanism was unknown. Now, Kerkar et al.+ T cells) is required for IL-12-mediated tumour eradication.
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  - Nat Rev Immunol 11(12):801 (2011)
  
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  - Nat Rev Immunol 11(12):801 (2011)
  
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  - Nat Rev Immunol 11(12):803 (2011)
  
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  - Nat Rev Immunol 11(12):803 (2011)
  
• TLR-dependent T cell activation in autoimmunity
  - Nat Rev Immunol 11(12):807 (2011)
  Autoimmune disease can develop as a result of a breakdown in immunological tolerance, leading to the activation of self-reactive T cells. There is an established link between infection and human autoimmune diseases. Furthermore, experimental autoimmune diseases can be induced by autoantigens that are administered together with complete Freund's adjuvant, which contains killed Mycobacterium tuberculosis; in some cases, these bacteria can be replaced by individual pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs). Exogenous PAMPs and endogenous danger signals from necrotic cells bind to pattern recognition receptors (including Toll-like receptors) and activate signalling pathways in innate immune cells and in T cells. This leads to pro-inflammatory cytokine production and T cell activation, which are now considered to be major factors in the development of autoimmunity.
• Towards a systems understanding of MHC class I and MHC class II antigen presentation
  - Nat Rev Immunol 11(12):823 (2011)
  The molecular details of antigen processing and presentation by MHC class I and class II molecules have been studied extensively for almost three decades. Although the basic principles of these processes were laid out approximately 10 years ago, the recent years have revealed many details and provided new insights into their control and specificity. MHC molecules use various biochemical reactions to achieve successful presentation of antigenic fragments to the immune system. Here we present a timely evaluation of the biology of antigen presentation and a survey of issues that are considered unresolved. The continuing flow of new details into our understanding of the biology of MHC class I and class II antigen presentation builds a system involving several cell biological processes, which is discussed in this Review.
• Peptidoglycan recognition proteins: modulators of the microbiome and inflammation
  - Nat Rev Immunol 11(12):837 (2011)
  All animals, including humans, live in symbiotic association with microorganisms. The immune system accommodates host colonization by the microbiota, maintains microbiota–host homeostasis and defends against pathogens. This Review analyses how one family of antibacterial pattern recognition molecules — the peptidoglycan recognition proteins — has evolved a fascinating variety of mechanisms to control host interactions with mutualistic, commensal and parasitic microorganisms to benefit both invertebrate and vertebrate hosts.
• The emerging role of CTLA4 as a cell-extrinsic regulator of T cell responses
  - Nat Rev Immunol 11(12):852 (2011)
  The T cell protein cytotoxic T lymphocyte antigen 4 (CTLA4) was identified as a crucial negative regulator of the immune system over 15 years ago, but its mechanisms of action are still under debate. It has long been suggested that CTLA4 transmits an inhibitory signal to the cells that express it. However, not all the available data fit with a cell-intrinsic function for CTLA4, and other studies have suggested that CTLA4 functions in a T cell-extrinsic manner. Here, we discuss the data for and against the T cell-intrinsic and -extrinsic functions of CTLA4.
• Vaccines for the twenty-first century society
  - Nat Rev Immunol 11(12):865 (2011)
  Vaccines have been one of the major revolutions in the history of mankind and, during the twentieth century, they eliminated most of the childhood diseases that used to cause millions of deaths. In the twenty-first century, vaccines will also play a major part in safeguarding people's health. Supported by the innovations derived from new technologies, vaccines will address the new needs of a twenty-first century society characterized by increased life expectancy, emerging infections and poverty in low-income countries.
• Strategies to discover regulatory circuits of the mammalian immune system
  - Nat Rev Immunol 11(12):873 (2011)
  Recent advances in technologies for genome- and proteome-scale measurements and perturbations promise to accelerate discovery in every aspect of biology and medicine. Although such rapid technological progress provides a tremendous opportunity, it also demands that we learn how to use these tools effectively. One application with great potential to enhance our understanding of biological systems is the unbiased reconstruction of genetic and molecular networks. Cells of the immune system provide a particularly useful model for developing and applying such approaches. Here, we review approaches for the reconstruction of signalling and transcriptional networks, with a focus on applications in the mammalian innate immune system.
• Organ-specific features of natural killer cells
  - Nat Rev Immunol 11(12):880 (2011)
  Nature Reviews Immunology11, 658–671 (2011) In the original version of this article, in the section under the subheading "CNS-specific NK cells in disease" on page 668, the humanized antibody daclizumab was incorrectly described as being specific for the IL-2 receptor β-chain (CD122). The corrected sentence now reads: "These findings might be relevant to the mode of action of daclizumab, a humanized antibody specific for the IL-2 receptor α-chain (CD25)". The authors apologize for this error.
• The golden anniversary of the thymus
  - Nat Rev Immunol 11(12):880 (2011)
  Nature Reviews Immunology11, 489–495 (2011) In the original version of this article, in the section under the title "Lymphocyte subsets" on page 491, a key reference was unintentionally omitted. At the end of the sentence "T cells that help B cells to produce antibody (T helper (TH) cells) generally bear the CD4 marker (originally known as L3T4), whereas those that serve cytotoxic functions (cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs)) are usually characterized by the presence of CD8 molecules (originally known as LYT2 and LYT3)" the following reference should have been cited: Kisielow, P. et al. Ly antigens as markers for functionally distinct subpopulations of thymus-derived lymphocytes of the mouse. Nature253, 219–220 (1975). The author apologizes for this omission.