title: Innate lymphoid cells: models of plasticity for immune homeostasis and rapid responsiveness in protection.
abstract: Innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) have stormed onto the immune landscape as "newly discovered" cell types. These tissue-resident sentinels are enriched at mucosal surfaces and engage in complex cross talk with elements of the adaptive immune system and microenvironment to orchestrate immune homeostasis. Many parallels exist between innate cells and T cells leading to the initial partitioning of ILCs into rather rigid subsets that reflect their "adaptive-like" effector cytokines profiles. ILCs themselves, however, have unique attributes that are only just beginning to be elucidated. These features result in complementarity with, rather than complete duplication of, functions of the adaptive immune system. Key transcription factors determine the pathway of differentiation of progenitors towards an ILC1, ILC2, or ILC3 subset. Once formed, flexibility in the responses of these subsets to stimuli unexpectedly allows transdifferentation between the different subsets and the acquisition of altered phenotypes and function. This provides a mechanism for rapid innate immune responsiveness. Here, we discuss the models of differentiation for maintenance and activation of tissue-resident ILCs in maintaining immune homeostasis and protection.
authors.affiliation: The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Parkville, Victoria, Australia.|Department of Medical Biology, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: F F
authors.initials: FF
authors.lastname: Almeida
authors.affiliation: The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Parkville, Victoria, Australia.|Department of Medical Biology, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: G T
authors.initials: GT
authors.lastname: Belz
mesh_terms: D056704:Adaptive Immunity; D000818:Animals; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D000066670:Cell Plasticity / Q000276:immunology*; D054338:Cell Transdifferentiation; D016207:Cytokines / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D006706:Homeostasis / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007113:Immunity, Innate; D016131:Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology*; D008221:Lymphoid Tissue / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology*; D015398:Signal Transduction
chemical_list: D016207:Cytokines