title: Development, differentiation, and diversity of innate lymphoid cells.
abstract: Recent years have witnessed the discovery of an unprecedented complexity in innate lymphocyte lineages, now collectively referred to as innate lymphoid cells (ILCs). ILCs are preferentially located at barrier surfaces and are important for protection against pathogens and for the maintenance of organ homeostasis. Inappropriate activation of ILCs has been linked to the pathogenesis of inflammatory and autoimmune disorders. Recent evidence suggests that ILCs can be grouped into two separate lineages, cytotoxic ILCs represented by conventional natural killer (cNK) cells and cytokine-producing helper-like ILCs (i.e., ILC1s, ILC2s, ILC3s). We will focus here on current work in humans and mice that has identified core transcriptional circuitry required for the commitment of lymphoid progenitors to the ILC lineage. The striking similarities in transcriptional control of ILC and T cell lineages reveal important insights into the evolution of transcriptional programs required to protect multicellular organisms against infections and to fortify barrier surfaces.
authors.affiliation: Research Centre for Immunology and Immunotherapy, University of Mainz Medical Centre, Obere Zahlbacher Strasse 67, 55131 Mainz, Germany; Institute of Medical Microbiology and Hygiene, University of Mainz Medical Centre, Obere Zahlbacher Strasse 67, 55131 Mainz, Germany. Electronic address: diefenbach@uni-mainz.de.
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Diefenbach
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology and Immunology, Washington University School of Medicine, 660 S. Euclid, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA.
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Colonna
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Immune Cell Systems, RIKEN Research Center for Integrative Medical Sciences (IMS), 1-7-22 Suehiro-cho, Tsurumi-ku, Yokohama 230-0045, Japan; Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Keio University School of Medicine, 35 Shinanomachi, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 160-8582, Japan.
authors.forename: Shigeo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Koyasu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000276:immunology; D019070:Cell Lineage / Q000276:immunology; D016207:Cytokines / Q000276:immunology*; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D007113:Immunity, Innate; D007694:Killer Cells, Natural / Q000276:immunology*; D051379:Mice; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000276:immunology; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000276:immunology*; D006377:T-Lymphocytes, Helper-Inducer / Q000276:immunology*; D019108:Tight Junctions / Q000276:immunology; D014158:Transcription, Genetic
chemical_list: D016207:Cytokines