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Transplantation Immunobiology

The two greatest challenges facing the widespread use of transplanted organs are availability of suitable organs and prevention of graft rejection by the host's immune system. This special feature on transplantation immunobiology addresses the two approaches to overcome these problems: obtaining transplantable organs from animals (usually pigs) rather than humans (known as xenotransplantation), and developing clever ways of specifically suppressing the recipient's immune system (regulatory T cells are proving relevant) rather than using current, non-specific immunosuppressive drugs that have considerable side effects. The accompanying web focus delves into the various techniques currently available for preventing xenotransplant rejection by modifying the graft, and explores approaches aimed at developing immunological tolerance to transplanted tissues in graft recipients.

Lymphocytes Return Home

Initially, it was thought that primary lymphoid organs exclusively produce cells and that once cells left, few would re-enter. However, recent data have shown that numerous cell types can return to the thymus. This focus brings together a collection of articles representing our current understanding of the field. The accompanying special feature deals with the nature and possible functional consequences of cellular traffic, both lymphoid and myeloid, back to the primary lymphoid organs.

Glycobiology of the Immune System

Carbohydrates are involved in a range of interactions related to immune responses. This collection of recent review and research articles represents our current understanding of the roles glycans play in activating the adaptive and innate immune responses.

Best of Immunology & Cell Biology

Spanning the breadth of immunology, Immunology & Cell Biology is proud to present a selection of the top articles from 2007 and 2008. With a particular emphasis on the cell biology of the immune system, areas covered include: cellular immunology, innate and adaptive immunity, immune responses to pathogens, tumour immunology, immunopathology, immunotherapy, immunogenetics and immunological studies in humans and model organisms (including mouse, rat, Drosophila etc).

NEW – Outstanding Observation: innovation accelerated - this content is FREE

Immunology & Cell Biology has introduced a new article type, "Outstanding Observation", to allow the rapid publication of influential discoveries about important immunological phenomena.