Immunology

Recent advances in cancer immunotherapy have directly built on 50 years of fundamental and technological advances that made checkpoint blockade and T cell engineering possible. In this review, we intend to show that research, not specifically designed to bring relief or cure to any particular disease, can, when creatively exploited, lead to spectacular results in the management of cancer. The discovery of thymus immune function, T cells, and immune surveillance bore the seeds for today’s targeted immune interventions and chimeric antigen receptors.

Via Krishan Maggon

Abstract

The organization of the thymus into distinct cortical and medullary regions enables it to control the step-wise migration and development of immature T-cell precursors. Such a process provides access to specialized cortical and medullary thymic epithelial cells at defined stages of maturation, ensuring the generation of self-tolerant and MHC-restricted conventional CD4+ and CD8+ αβ T cells. The migratory cues and stromal cell requirements that regulate the development of conventional αβ T cells have been well studied. However, the thymus also fosters the generation of several immunoregulatory T-cell populations that form key components of both innate and adaptive immune responses. These include Foxp3+ natural regulatory T cells, invariant γδ T cells, and CD1d-restricted invariant natural killer T cells (iNKT cells). While less is known about the intrathymic requirements of these nonconventional T cells, recent studies have highlighted the importance of the thymus medulla in their development. Here, we review recent findings on the mechanisms controlling the intrathymic migration of distinct T-cell subsets, and relate this to knowledge of the microenvironmental requirements of these cells.

Via Krishan Maggon

The innate immune system is composed of a diverse array of evolutionarily ancient haematopoietic cell types, including dendritic cells, monocytes, macrophages and granulocytes. These cell populations collaborate with each other, with the adaptive immune system and with non-haematopoietic cells to promote immunity, inflammation and tissue repair. Innate lymphoid cells are the most recently identified constituents of the innate immune system and have been the focus of intense investigation over the past five years. We summarize the studies that formally identified innate lymphoid cells and highlight their emerging roles in controlling tissue homeostasis in the context of infection, chronic inflammation, metabolic disease and cancer.

Via Krishan Maggon

Macrophages are best known for their Pac Man–like ability to gobble up cellular debris and pathogens in order to thwart infection.

Via Krishan Maggon

Abstract

 

Natural Killer (NK) cells use germ line encoded receptors to detect diseased host cells. Despite the invariant recognition structures, NK cells have a significant ability to adapt to their surroundings, such as the presence or absence of MHC class I molecules. It has been assumed that this adaptation occurs during NK cell development, but recent findings show that mature NK cells can also adapt to the presence or absence of MHC class I molecules. Here, we summarize how NK cells adjust to changes in the expression of MHC class I molecules. We propose an extension of existing models, in which MHC class I recognition during NK cell development sequentially instructs and maintains NK cell function. The elucidation of the molecular basis of the two effects may identify ways to improve the fitness of NK cells and to prevent the loss of NK cell function due to persistent alterations in their environment..

Via Krishan Maggon

The Perverse and Often Baffling Immune Response to Prions

 

The holy grail of an effective vaccine is sterilizing immunity mediated by powerful neutralizing antibodies. Proof-of-principle has been shown in studies promoting mucosal immunity against prions [22]. The Complement system opsonizes most of the resulting antibody-antigen complexes, marking them for disposal mainly by Kupfer cells, the macrophages of the liver. However, compelling evidence shows that Complement facilitates prion transport to germinal centers within FDCs, where efficient prion replication occurs [9,23,24]. Generating prion-specific antibodies could therefore facilitate Complement trapping and transport of prions to draining lymph nodes—the very place they replicate most efficiently.

 

So maybe a cell-mediated response is better. Perhaps a more effective prion vaccine stimulates prion-specific T cells in the periphery to produce inflammatory cytokines like IFNγ, that can activate macrophages to phagocytose prions and degrade or at least sequester them, as has been shown to occur [6,7]. Such an atypical, cell-induced innate immune vaccine may be just what a host needs to respond to such an atypical pathogen. Or not, says Anne.

Via Krishan Maggon

Abstract

The immune system can remember a previously experienced pathogen and can evoke an enhanced response to reinfection that depends on memory lymphocyte populations. Recent advances in tracking antigen-experienced memory B cells have revealed the existence of distinct classes of cells that have considerable functional differences. Some of these differences seem to be determined by the stimulation history during memory cell formation. To induce rapid recall antibody responses, the contributions of other types of cells, such as memory T follicular helper cells, have also now begun to be appreciated. In this Review, we discuss these and other recent advances in our understanding of memory B cells, focusing on the underlying mechanisms that are required for rapid and effective recall antibody responses.

Via Krishan Maggon

Dendritic cells, macrophages and B cells are regarded as the classical antigen-presenting cells of the immune system. However, in recent years, there has been a rapid increase in the number of cell types that are suggested to present antigens on MHC class II molecules to CD4+ T cells. In this Review, we describe the key characteristics that define an antigen-presenting cell by examining the functions of dendritic cells. We then examine the functions of the haematopoietic cells and non-haematopoietic cells that can express MHC class II molecules and that have been suggested to represent 'atypical' antigen-presenting cells. We consider whether any of these cell populations can prime naive CD4+ T cells and, if not, question the effects that they do have on the development of immune responses.

Via Krishan Maggon