The main focus of this special issue will be on the different steps of lymphocyte development, terminal differentiation, activation, and effector function that ultimately influence the immune response. The special issue will become an international forum for researchers to summarize the most recent developments and ideas in the field, with a special emphasis given to the observational results obtained within the last five years.

Several types of microenvironmental stimuli can influence lymphocyte fate from development through differentiation into different effector cells with distinct biological properties. These stimuli transduce signals that terminate in changes in transcription factor activity, inducing a broad range of phenotypes. In this manner, diverse adaptive immune responses can be modulated. Potential topics include, but are not limited to:

• Lymphopoiesis and developmental checkpoints
• Lymphocyte activation and differentiation upon antigen presentation
• Central and peripheral tolerance
• Lymphocyte effector mechanisms in immunity to pathogens, transplantation, and tumor immunity
• Immunodeficiency and autoimmunity disorders

Before submission authors should carefully read over the journal's Author Guidelines, which are located at http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jir/guidelines/. Prospective authors should submit an electronic copy of their complete manuscript through the journal Manuscript Tracking System at http://mts.hindawi.com/ according to the following timetable: