Research Highlights in 2017

HLA class I homozgosity and loss of heterozygosity are associated with poor response to checkpoint blockade therapy.

Plasmacytoid dendritic cells diversify in response to a single stimulus.

IL-1 is released from living macrophages by gasdermin D pore formation.

Death of the retinal epithelium in age-related macular degeneration involves cGAS-dependent noncanonical inflammasome activation.

Platelets actively migrate at inflamed sites and can collect and bundle bacteria and promote neutrophil activation.

Chemotaxis of myeloid cells in response to CCL19 and CXCL12 involves temporal sensing of an increasing source concentration of chemokine.

Lysosomal calcium signalling links antigen uptake by tissue dendritic cells to migration to the lymph nodes.

HLA variation or loss is associated with immune editing in human tumours.

T cell activation is associated with a depletion of amino acids and neurotransmitters and may result in behavioural changes

Skin epithelial stem cells show inflammatory memory, which enhances their response to tissue damage.

Type I interferons, induced by DNA released from ischaemic cardiomyocytes, drive inflammation after myocardial infarction.

Metabolism of free fatty acids by cell-intrinsic autophagy is an essential component of neutrophil differentiation.

Nuclear factor of activated T cells (NFAT) regulates IFNγ production in natural killer cells and controls fibrinolytic processes required to clear skin infections.

T follicular regulatory cells arise once infection resolves and IL-2 levels wane to prevent the outgrowth of self-reactive B cells.

Maternal–fetal tolerance is promoted by TIM3 signalling in peripheral natural killer cells.

Mucosal neurons activate ILC2s and drive type 2 inflammation by secreting neuromedin U.

LKB1 protects regulatory T cells from exhaustion, allowing them to efficiently control T helper 2 cell responses.

Chronic itch is driven by IL-4 receptor- and JAK1-mediated signalling in sensory neurons.

IFNλ can modulate the function of neutrophils and suppress intestinal inflammation.

A probiotic induces CD4⁺T cell differentiation into tolerogenic double-positive intraepithelial lymphocytes by activating their aryl hydrocarbon receptor.