Articles in 2018

The generation of an HIV vaccine remains the holy grail for eliminating HIV infection worldwide. Major advances in 2018 centred on sequential multi-immunogen strategies that are designed to induce broadly neutralizing antibodies, identifying new targets and defining new approaches to immunogen evaluation.

The mechanism of epigenetic modification of primed immune genes during β-glucan-induced trained immunity is shown to involve the function of the long non-coding RNA UMLILO within topologically associating domains of chromosome loops.

Probiotic microorganisms such as Lactobacillus rhamnosus can protect from bone loss by enhancing levels of butyrate, which leads to the expansion of regulatory T cells. These stimulate CD8⁺ T cells to secrete WNT10b, a bone anabolic factor.

A combination of radiotherapy and anti-CTLA4 checkpoint blockade in anti-CTLA4 unresponsive patients with non-small-cell lung cancer induced systemic T cell responses in some patients, likely through radiotherapy-induced upregulation of neoantigens.

Targeting GM-CSF in allogeneic bone marrow transplantation could prevent graft-versus-host disease while maintaining graft-versus-leukaemia responses.

This Review discusses the importance of autophagy in controlling immune cell differentiation and homeostasis. The authors consider the diverse mechanisms through which autophagy functions to shape the immune system, highlighting its role in the dynamic regulation of metabolism.

Uptake of apoptotic cell corpses by phagocytes requires the coordinated activity of SLC family membrane transporters to meet the metabolic demands of anti-inflammatory dead cell clearance.

The ESCRT machinery is recruited to gasdermin D pores following inflammasome activation and repairs damaged membrane areas to prevent cell death.

Nanoparticles designed to prevent training of myeloid cells infiltrating allografts can promote long-term transplant acceptance and immunological tolerance.

Statins are lipid-lowering drugs that are traditionally associated with the treatment of cardiovascular diseases. Here, the authors consider the potential of harnessing statins to treat infectious diseases.

Gut dysbiosis and intestinal leakage during ageing trigger an inflammatory monocyte–B1 B cell axis that induces insulin resistance.

This Opinion article summarizes current models of thinking about multi-locus antigenic diversity of pathogens. The authors describe five hypotheses to explain how host immunity selects for antigenic diversity at the level of the pathogen population.

CARD protein–BCL-10–MALT1 (CBM) signalosomes are key regulators of innate and adaptive immunity and inflammation. This Review summarizes the regulation and function of CBM signalling for host defence and tissue homeostasis and the pathophysiological consequences of genetic CBM alterations in human disease.

Here, the author provides an overview of the spatial organization of the different subsets of dendritic cells in lymph nodes and spleen and discusses how the temporal microanatomy of secondary lymphoid organs allows for tailored and effective T cell immunity.

Eukaryotic translation initiation complex eIF4F is identified as an upstream regulator of PD-L1 expression and is therefore a promising target for immunotherapy.

This Review considers the unique anatomy of the cutaneous immune system. The authors explain how both protective and pathological immune responses are shaped in the skin, its associated appendages (such as hair follicles and sweat glands) and skin-associated lymphoid tissues.

The gut microbiota and intestinal immune cells profoundly affect each other, an interaction that can be manipulated with antibiotics and probiotics.

Using spiky microparticles, the authors show that physical cues, such as topological features on the surface of a pathogen, can trigger an immune response by exerting mechanical stress on immune cells.