Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain
the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in
Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles
and JavaScript.
This Comment discusses the potential effects of ultra-processed foods (UPFs) on the immune system independently of obesity, by which UPFs might dysregulate the balance between the gut microbiota and immune cells.
Two papers in Immunity report the effects of acetylcholine secretion by intestinal tuft cells on epithelial cells and helminths that contribute to the anti-helminth response.
A study by Nakayama et al. shows that heart failure causes epigenetic changes in haematopoietic stem cells that predispose to further heart disease and comorbidity.
An adoptive cellular therapy based on γδ T cells, which were engineered to secrete a tumour-targeting opsonin as well as an IL-15 superagonist, controlled tumour growth in a mouse model of patient-derived osteosarcoma.
In this Tools of the Trade article, Sandra Nakandakari-Higa (of the Gabriel Victora lab) describes the latest version of their LIPSTIC technique for tracking diverse cell–cell interactions in vivo.
A preprint by Ben-Chetrit et al. investigates the molecular and cellular mechanisms that regulate macrophage heterogeneity in solid breast cancer tumours.
In this Progress article, Fooksman and colleagues review recent advances in the study of long-lived plasma cells, using genetic labelling tools, RNA sequencing and in vivo imaging to characterize the differentiation and survival of this rare cell type in mice and humans.
Immune cell engagers — antibody-based molecules engineered to direct immune effector cells to recognize and kill cancer cells — represent a rapidly expanding approach in cancer therapy. Here, the authors bring us up to date with the targets, challenges and opportunities for harnessing the anticancer activities of T cells, natural killer cells and myeloid cells with immune cell engagers.
Immune responses to pathogens and self-antigens show sex-based differences, with female individuals generally more susceptible to autoimmunity and male individuals more vulnerable to infections. In this Review, the authors explore the role of hormones and genetics in shaping immune responses, and discuss genetic and epigenetic contributions to altered X-linked gene expression that affect immune responses.
In this Review, the authors discuss the origins of regulatory T (Treg) cells in the periphery and the mechanisms by which Treg cells are induced, as well as the regulation of the suppressive function of these cells. Moreover, they examine evidence for and mechanisms of Treg cell dysfunction in common autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis, inflammatory bowel disease, systemic lupus erythematosus and rheumatoid arthritis.
This Review highlights new insights into the biology of inflammasomes from the perspective of structural and mechanistic studies, revealing how the supramolecular complexes that activate inflammatory caspases are assembled and regulated, to induce cytokine maturation and release, as well as pyroptotic cell death.