Tissue residency of innate lymphoid cells in lymphoid and nonlymphoid organs

Establishing a longtime residency Innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) are a subset of immune cells that promote barrier immunity in tissues such as the gut and lungs and help to maintain immune homeostasis. Gasteiger et al. investigated how the body maintains its pools of ILCs in such peripheral tissues, as well as in immune tissues such as the lymph nodes and the spleen. In mice surgically joined to share their bloodstreams, unlike lymphocytes, most ILCs did not circulate through the blood. Instead, ILCs resided long term in tissues, even in the face of inflammation or infection. Science , this issue p. 981