Advances in basic and clinical immunology in 2016

• Published in: Journal of allergy and clinical immunology 2017-10, Vol.140 (4), p.959-973
• Main Authors: Chinen, Javier, Badran, Yousef R., Geha, Raif S., Chou, Janet S., Fried, Ari J.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Actin; Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing - genetics; Allergy and Immunology - trends; Animals; Antigens; Autografts; Cell activation; Chronic granulomatous disease; Chronic infection; Chronic lymphocytic leukemia; Clinical trials; Clinical Trials as Topic; common variable immunodeficiency; Cytokines; Cytoskeleton; Cytotoxicity; Disease; Effector cells; Gene therapy; Genomes; Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation; High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing; Histiocytosis; Humans; hyper-IgE syndrome; Immune response; Immunodeficiency; Immunologic Deficiency Syndromes - genetics; Immunologic Deficiency Syndromes - therapy; Immunology; Immunotherapy - methods; Janus kinase; Leucine; Lymphocytes; Lymphocytes B; Lymphocytes T; Lymphocytosis; Lymphoma; Membrane Proteins - genetics; Mevalonate kinase; Microfilament Proteins - genetics; Mutation; Pioglitazone; Primary immunodeficiencies; primary immunodeficiency; Proteins; Repressor Proteins - genetics; Secretion; severe combined immunodeficiency; Stem cells; T cell receptors; Thiazolidinediones - therapeutic use; Transplantation; Tumor Suppressor Proteins - genetics; Vaccines; Viruses; whole-exome sequencing
• ISSN: 0091-6749; 1097-6825
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jaci.2017.07.023

Advances in basic immunology in 2016 included studies that further characterized the role of different proteins in the differentiation of effector T and B cells, including cytokines and proteins involved in the actin cytoskeleton. Regulation of granule formation and secretion in cytotoxic cells was also further described by examining patients with familial hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis. The role of prenylation in patients with mevalonate kinase deficiency leading to inflammation has been established. We reviewed advances in clinical immunology, as well as new approaches of whole-genome sequencing and genes newly reported to be associated with immunodeficiency, such as linker of activation of T cells (LAT); B-cell CLL/lymphoma 11B (BCL11B); RGD, leucine-rich repeat, tropomodulin domain, and proline-rich domain–containing protein (RLTPR); moesin; and Janus kinase 1 (JAK1). Trials of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation and gene therapy for primary immunodeficiency have had relative success; the use of autologous virus-specific cytotoxic T cells has proved effective as well. New medications are being explored, such as pioglitazone, which is under study for its role in enhancing the oxidative burst in patients with chronic granulomatous disease. Development of vaccines for HIV infection continues to provide insight into the immune response against a virus with an extraordinary mutation rate.