Discoveries revealing the molecular basis of innate immune responses, particularly the identification of Toll-like receptors (TLRs) as the major recognition sensors for microbial and even self-molecules, have provided new insights into the pathogenesis of both systemic and organ-specific autoimmune diseases. These insights will permit the development of novel treatment modalities for these diso...

For a long time, cancer immunotherapy has focused on the induction of tumor-specific T cell-mediated immune responses. Now, a mounting body of evidence indicates that efficient anticancer immune responses also rely on innate immunity. Tietze et al. have recently elucidated an antigen-nonspecific role for memory CD8(+) T cells in cytokine-based cancer immunotherapy.

To understand the control mechanism of innate immune response in macrophages, a series of phagocytic responses to plural stimulation of antigens on identical cells was observed. Two zymosan particles, which were used as antigens, were put on different surfaces of a macrophage using optical tweezers in an on-chip single-cell cultivation system, which maintains isolated conditions of each macroph...

Subunit vaccine formulations often include adjuvants that primarily stimulate innate immune cells. While young infants represent the major target population for vaccination, effective immunization in this age group remains a challenge. Many parameters of innate immune responses differ quantitatively and qualitatively from newborns to infants and adults, revealing a highly regulated developmenta...

PURPOSE OF REVIEW Burkholderia mallei is a facultative intracellular pathogen that causes the highly contagious and often the fatal disease, glanders. With its high rate of infectivity via aerosol and recalcitrance toward antibiotics, this pathogen is considered a potential biological threat agent. This review focuses on the most recent literature highlighting host innate immune response to B. ...

A connection between the genetic events that lead to tumor formation and the signaling pathways of the innate immune response has been established. In this issue, Chien et al. (2006) show that the RalB GTPase regulates the IKK family member TBK1, providing an unexpected link between the signaling pathways that promote inflammation and cancer. In tumor cells the RalB/TBK1 pathway inhibits apopto...

One of the most fundamental questions in immunology pertains to the recognition of non-self, which for the most part means microbes. How do we initially realize that we have been inoculated with microbes, and how is the immune response ignited? Genetic studies have made important inroads into this question during the past decade, and we now know that in mammals, a relatively small number of rec...

It is now 26 years after the first published report on HIV, and the global epidemic continues unabated, with estimates of over 33 million people currently infected, worldwide. Development of targeted therapies aimed at perturbing the HIV life cycle can be achieved only with a detailed comprehension of the dynamics of virus-host interactions within the cell. One such critical virus-host interact...