The conceptual foundations of innate immunity: Taking stock 30 years later

While largely neglected over decades during which adaptive immunity captured most of the attention, innate immune mechanisms have now become central to our understanding of immunology. Innate immunity provides the first barrier to infection in vertebrates, and it is the sole mechanism of host defense in invertebrates and plants. Innate immunity also plays a critical role in maintaining homeostasis, shaping the microbiota, and in disease contexts such as cancer, neurodegeneration, metabolic syndromes, and aging. The emergence of the field of innate immunity has led to an expanded view of the immune system, which is no longer restricted to vertebrates and instead concerns all metazoans, plants, and even…

• GA
  Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation

  Award: GBMF9021
• AV
  Alexander von Humboldt-Stiftung

  Awards: 390686111, EXC 2048/1
• DF
  Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft

  Awards: Project ID: 390686111, EXC 2048/1, EXC 2048, 390686111, 2048/1
• SN
  Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung

  Award: 310030_215073