Regional variations in Paneth cell antimicrobial peptide expression along the mouse intestinal tract.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Enteric antimicrobial peptides secreted from Paneth cells, including alpha-defensins (in mice named cryptdins), are key effector molecules of innate immunity in the small intestine. The importance of Paneth cells alpha-defensins emerged from studies of enteric bacterial infection in genetically modified mice, as well as from recent studies linking reduced levels of these alpha-defensins to Crohn's disease localized to the ileum. However, analysis of expression of Paneth cell alpha-defensins is incomplete. We therefore performed a comprehensive evaluation of the distribution of antimicrobial molecules along the mouse small intestinal tract to identify potential variations in regional expression.

Results

In conventionally reared mice, the repertoire of Paneth cell a

SUBMITTER: Karlsson J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2488317 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature