title: Innate lymphoid cells in the defense against infections.
abstract: Barrier surfaces are under constant attack by potentially dangerous microbes. Interestingly, mucosal tissues contain a large number of innate lymphocytes now collectively referred to as innate lymphoid cells (ILCs). Different groups of ILCs are being distinguished, each of which produce an array of cytokines strikingly resembling the profile of the various T helper cell effector subsets. Over the last couple of years, evidence has been emerging that the various ILC subsets play important roles in immune defense against mucosal infections. In this review, I will introduce the various groups of ILCs and then focus on their roles for immunity to mucosal infections.
authors.affiliation: Section of Molecular Infection Biology, Department of Medical Microbiology and Hygiene, University of Freiburg Hermann-Herder-Strasse 11, D-79104 Freiburg Germany.
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Diefenbach
keywords: Candida; Helicobacter; Salmonella; innate lymphoid cells (ILCs); natural killer (NK) cells