Featured
-
-
Article |
RANK links thymic regulatory T cells to fetal loss and gestational diabetes in pregnancy
RANK promotes the hormone-mediated development of thymic regulatory T cells during pregnancy; loss of RANK is associated with impaired maturation of maternal regulatory T cells, leading to fetal loss and the development of gestational diabetes.
- Magdalena Paolino
- , Rubina Koglgruber
- & Josef M. Penninger
-
Letter |
S-Geranylgeranyl-l-glutathione is a ligand for human B cell-confinement receptor P2RY8
S-geranylgeranyl-l-glutathione (GGG) is identified as a cell signalling molecule that interacts with the receptor P2RY8 to mediate migration inhibition and growth regulation of germinal-centre B cells.
- Erick Lu
- , Finn D. Wolfreys
- & Jason G. Cyster
-
Letter |
Thymic tuft cells promote an IL-4-enriched medulla and shape thymocyte development
A comprehensive analysis of the thymic medulla identifies a tuft-cell-like thymic epithelial cell population that is necessary for shaping thymic function.
- Corey N. Miller
- , Irina Proekt
- & Mark S. Anderson
-
Letter |
Lymphatic endothelial S1P promotes mitochondrial function and survival in naive T cells
The chemoattractant S1P is identified as an extrinsic factor that supports naive T cell survival, and acts via a signalling mechanism to maintain mitochondrial content and function.
- Alejandra Mendoza
- , Victoria Fang
- & Susan R. Schwab
-
Letter |
Dendritic cells control fibroblastic reticular network tension and lymph node expansion
During inflammation, the lymph node stromal compartment is shown to accommodate high numbers of infiltrating lymphocytes by relaxing the cytoskeleton of fibroblastic reticular cells, allowing the latter to stretch and the lymph node to expand.
- Sophie E. Acton
- , Aaron J. Farrugia
- & Caetano Reis e Sousa
-
Letter |
Podoplanin maintains high endothelial venule integrity by interacting with platelet CLEC-2
A transmembrane O-glycoprotein podoplanin (PDPN) expressed on fibroblastic reticular cells is the activating ligand for platelet receptor CLEC-2; this interaction leads to perivenular release of sphingosine-1-phosphate and expression of VE-cadherin on high endothelial venules, a key process for the maintenance of vascular integrity in lymph nodes.
- Brett H. Herzog
- , Jianxin Fu
- & Lijun Xia
-
Outlook |
Microenvironment: Neighbourhood watch
In the fight against myeloma, researchers are investigating its interactions with molecular neighbours in the bone marrow.
- Virginia Hughes
-
Letter |
A thymus candidate in lampreys
Jawless fish were recently shown to possess T- and B-like lymphocytes expressing diverse assembled antigen receptors. This study identifies and characterizes lympho-epithelial thymus-like structures at the tips of gill filaments of lamprey larvae, thus providing evidence that the similarities underlying the adaptive immune systems of both types of vertebrate appear to extend to primary lymphoid organs.
- Baubak Bajoghli
- , Peng Guo
- & Thomas Boehm
-
Letter |
Microenvironmental reprogramming of thymic epithelial cells to skin multipotent stem cells
The thymus contains thymic epithelial cells (TECs), which form a complex three-dimensional network organized into cortical and medullary compartments. It is shown here that these cells are plastic. Clonogenic TECs can acquire new properties when exposed to the skin microenvironment; under such conditions, they can permanently adopt the fate of hair follicle multipotent stem cells. Hence, microenvironmental cues can be sufficient to re-direct epithelial cell fate.
- Paola Bonfanti
- , Stéphanie Claudinot
- & Yann Barrandon
-
Article |
Mesenchymal and haematopoietic stem cells form a unique bone marrow niche
The identity of the cells that form the haematopoietic stem cell (HSC) niche in bone marrow has been unclear. These authors identify nestin-expressing mesenchymal stem cells as niche-forming cells. These nestin-expressing cells show a close physical association with HSCs and express high levels of genes involved in HSC maintenance, and their depletion reduces bone marrow homing of haematopoietic progenitors.
- Simón Méndez-Ferrer
- , Tatyana V. Michurina
- & Paul S. Frenette