Beyond Host Defense: Emerging Functions of the Immune System in Regulating Complex Tissue Physiology.

TitleBeyond Host Defense: Emerging Functions of the Immune System in Regulating Complex Tissue Physiology.
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2018
AuthorsRankin, LC, Artis, D
JournalCell
Volume173
Issue3
Pagination554-567
Date Published2018 Apr 19
ISSN1097-4172
Abstract

The essential roles played by the immune system in the discrimination between self- versus non/altered-self and its integral role in promoting host defense against invading microbes and tumors have been extensively studied for many years. In these contexts, significant advances have been made in defining the molecular and cellular networks that orchestrate cell-cell communication to mediate host defense and pathogen expulsion. Notably, recent studies indicate that in addition to these classical immune functions, cells of the innate and adaptive immune system also sense complex tissue- and environment-derived signals, including those from the nervous system and the diet. In turn these responses regulate physiologic processes in multiple tissues throughout the body, including nervous system function, metabolic state, thermogenesis, and tissue repair. In this review we propose an integrated view of how the mammalian immune system senses and interacts with other complex organ systems to maintain tissue and whole-body homeostasis.

DOI10.1016/j.cell.2018.03.013
Alternate JournalCell
PubMed ID29677509