Antigen-specific T cells underpin immunity, cancer surveillance and autoimmunity, yet remain difficult to study. This Review describes the technologies and computational approaches that are helping to link T cell receptor specificity with function, revealing how intrinsic T cell properties shape immune outcomes across infection, vaccination and disease.

This Review traces the development of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy from foundational immunology to approved products, highlighting clinical successes, engineering advances, safety strategies and ongoing challenges in extending durable responses beyond haematological malignancies.

This Review discusses the origins and roles of macrophages in embryonic development. The authors highlight the importance of macrophages for development of the haematopoietic and immune systems and for the establishment of immune tolerance in early life.

In this Viewpoint, eight experts from the field of T cell exhaustion discuss current understanding of the self-renewing population of PD1⁺TCF1⁺TOX⁺ precursor and/or progenitor exhausted CD8⁺ T cells and controversies related to their development and function.