Research Highlights in 2016

B cells may protect against pre-term labour by responding to IL-33.

Expression of CX₃CR1 defines a new memory T cell subset that surveys peripheral tissues.

Pollutants activate the aryl hydrocarbon receptor to upregulate type 2 cytokines and neurotrophic factors that drive atopic dermatitis.

Thymic stromal lymphopoietin increases the killing of methicillin-resistantStaphylococcus aureusin a neutrophil- and complement-dependent manner.

The functional behaviour of haematopoietic stem cells is determined in a cell-autonomous manner by clone-specific epigenetic modifications.

Two studies have characterized a distinct molecular signature of intratumoral CD4⁺regulatory T cells from various tumours that correlates with cancer prognosis.

Macrophages expressing PPARγ support skeletal muscle regeneration by inducing secretion of the myoblast growth factor GDF3.

A cell-intrinsic checkpoint restricts type 2 cytokine production by ILC2s and T_H2 cells at sites of tissue damage.

Type I interferons induced by chronic viral infections suppress the induction of early neutralizing antibody responses.

Multinuclear granuloma macrophages arise through a distinct differentiation pathway mediated by chronic TLR2 signalling, rather than by cell fusion.

Broadly neutralizing human antibodies for Zika virus protect adult mice and prevent maternal–fetal transmission.

Macrophages regulate phagocytic and inflammatory responses by non-professional phagocytes.

Antibodies from individuals with latent and active tuberculosis infections show distinct glycosylation patterns and Fc-dependent effector functions.

Epithelium-derived butyrophilin-like (BTNL) molecules can shape the local γδ T cell repertoire in a tissue-specific manner.

T follicular regulatory cells suppress antibody production through the induction of a unique suppressive state in T follicular helper cells and B cells.

Tumour-derived lactic acid dampens the activation and cytokine production of infiltrating T cells and natural killer cells, allowing tumours to escape immune detection and promoting tumour growth.

Automated analyses of high-dimensional data can align dendritic cell subsets from different tissues and across species.

The genome of germinal centre B cells undergoes a multilayered reorganization to coordinate transcriptional reprogramming.

Fasting metabolism has opposing roles in maintaining tissue tolerance; anorexia improves survival during bacterial infection whereas it has detrimental effects during viral infection.

There are no obvious clinical symptoms of long-term deficiency of innate lymphoid cells in humans, which suggests that their postulated functions might be redundant.