Cookies on this website

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you click 'Accept all cookies' we'll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies and you won't see this message again. If you click 'Reject all non-essential cookies' only necessary cookies providing core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility will be enabled. Click 'Find out more' for information on how to change your cookie settings.

The immune system is pivotal in mediating the interactions between host and microbiota that shape the intestinal environment. Intestinal homeostasis arises from a highly dynamic balance between host protective immunity and regulatory mechanisms. This regulation is achieved by a number of cell populations acting through a set of shared regulatory pathways. In this review, we summarize the main lymphocyte subsets controlling immune responsiveness in the gut and their mechanisms of control, which involve maintenance of intestinal barrier function and suppression of chronic inflammation. CD4(+)Foxp3(+) T cells play a nonredundant role in the maintenance of intestinal homeostasis through IL-10- and TGF-beta-dependent mechanisms. Their activity is complemented by other T and B lymphocytes. Because breakdown in immune regulatory networks in the intestine leads to chronic inflammatory diseases of the gut, such as inflammatory bowel disease and celiac disease, regulatory lymphocytes are an attractive target for therapies of intestinal inflammation.

Original publication

DOI

10.1146/annurev.immunol.021908.132657

Type

Journal article

Journal

Annu Rev Immunol

Publication Date

2009

Volume

27

Pages

313 - 338

Keywords

Animals, Antigen-Presenting Cells, B-Lymphocytes, Homeostasis, Humans, Immunity, Innate, Indoleamine-Pyrrole 2,3,-Dioxygenase, Inflammation, Interleukin-10, Intestinal Mucosa, Intestines, Lymphoid Tissue, Mice, Natural Killer T-Cells, T-Lymphocyte Subsets, T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory, Transforming Growth Factor beta