Innate lymphoid cells and their stromal microenvironments

- Fetal developmental programming of ILCs is coupled with postnatal immunological competence of lymphoid tissues.
- ILC subsets and stromal precursors jointly create distinct T/B zone microenvironments.
- ILC-stromal interactions assist the stroma to promote adaptive immune responses.
- Communication between mucosal stromal cells and ILCs influences the normal epithelial turnover of gut.

In addition to the interaction between antigen presenting cells, T and B lymphocytes, recent studies have revealed important roles for a diverse set of auxiliary cells that profoundly influence the induction and regulation of immune responses against pathogens. Of these the stromal cells composed of various non-hematopoietic constituents are crucial for the creation and maintenance of specialized semi-static three-dimensional lymphoid tissue microenvironment, whereas the more recently described innate lymphoid cells are generated by the diversification of committed lymphoid precursor cells independently from clonally rearranged antigen receptor genes. Recent findings have revealed important contributions by innate lymphoid cells in inflammation and protection against pathogens in a tissue-specific manner. Importantly, lymphoid stromal cells also influence the onset of immune responses in tissue-specific fashion, raising the possibility of tissue-specific stromal - innate lymphoid cell collaboration. In this review we summarize the main features and interactions between these two cells types, with particular emphasis on ILC type 3 cells and their microenvironmental partners.