Ming-Ting Tsai

Abstract How tolerogenic dendritic cell (DC) lineages are established to prevent inappropriate immune responses to commensals and food antigens remains unclear. We identify RORγt+ DCs in mice as a distinct lymphoid-derived lineage to safeguard intestinal tolerance.

Editor’s summary The frequency and severity of asthma are higher in adult females compared with males, and periods of hormonal change—such as puberty, pregnancy, and menopause—are associated with the modulation of symptoms. Stölting et al. report that female mice exposed to house dust mite (HDM) aeroallergens starting early in life show enhanced type 2 airway responses compared with males. The female hormone 17β-estradiol (E2) amplifies the production of interleukin-33 (IL-33) by fibroblasts.

Editor’s summary The germinal center (GC) reaction is central to the development of long-lived B and T cell memory responses and is supported by T follicular helper (TFH) cells. Webb et al. developed a mouse model to delete Il21 fate-mapped T cells, which depleted TFH cells, as well as GC-TFH cells, and established GCs while retaining other T cell subsets. Depletion of TFH cells causes the primary GC response to pause until the ingress of new TFH cells from outside the GC.