Editorial

One of the most challenging tasks in biomedical research is keeping up with the immense literature in immunology. Recent years have shown that the traditional definition of immunology is no longer sufficient to encompass the relevant areas of study, making the task even more difficult, especially to the new investigator. Many (indeed it may be argued all) of the greatest recent advances in cellular immunology have come from areas not traditionally studied by immunologists (until now!). For example, immunology has had the benefit of cell biology in the elucidation of lymphocyte activation and the access to insights from protein structural chemistry to explain T cell receptor - MHC interactions. The situation is no simpler for those wishing to do the most medically relevant studies on immune development and function. Indeed, not all immunologists have the time to benefit from a medical education. While the mouse model, in all its forms including transgenic and knockout strains, has been a traditional focus of much basic immunology, there are considerable species differences between mouse and human. Mouse models of human disease unfortunately frequently fail to provide a faithful representation of clinical pathophysiology. Thus, a strong argument could be made that basic immunology research would greatly benefit from some clear guides as to the most relevant features of human clinical immunology and pathophysiology. Conversely, clinical research would similarly benefit from clear explanations of the latest advances in molecular immunology in a context that links molecular mechanisms to medical physiology. It is for these reasons we hope to provide researchers with a new source of review articles to bridge the gap between basic immunology and clinical application. Moreover, in addition to providing reviews covering specific application of research in basic mechanisms to the understanding of complex clinical diseases, we hope to highlight areas in which studies in other biomedical topics have major significance to basic and clinical immunology mechanisms. In this issue, to kick off the second year of the publication of Current Immunology Reviews, we include several articles that provide us with important insights into the clinical application of basic immunology research. I would highlight in particular a few articles in areas of study not considered mainstream immunology yet with profound consequence in immune responses in normal and disease settings. The article by Cloez-Tayarani (page 27) presents an interesting overview of the important effects of serotonin - mainly viewed as a neurotransmitter - on immune function. Similarly, Kuipers and van den Elsen (page 55) provide some insights into the possible important effects of statins in immune mediated diseases such as Multiple Sclerosis. This last paper also highlights the importance of understanding basic cell biology mechanisms in the context of immune responses. To this point, we also have papers by Atfield, Liu, and Penninger (page 73) on the molecular mechanisms involved in T cell anergy, an especially comprehensive overview by Baumruker and Billich (page 101) on the biochemistry of sphingolipids in cell signaling, and from Brunner and Wirth (page 3) a review of the important role of the B cell transcription factor BOB.1/OBF.1 in B cell function. The practical clinical applications of basic immunology research are presented in three articles. In the article by Galindo et al. (page 13), the immune response to Aeromonas virulence factors is examined, with important lessons in host response to infectious agents. Salek-Ardakani et al. (page 37) present a compelling argument for the use of the OX40:OX40L axis as a target for therapeutics in a variety of immune mediated inflammatory conditions. Finally, Cascalho and Platt (page 65) present a cautionary tale on the immunologic barriers to replacement of damaged organs. With these articles we continue an impressive series of publications with reviews bridging the gap between basic immunology research and their application to standard-of-care clinical medicine. We invite our readers to continue to offer their outstanding articles on these topics.