The Neuromodulation of the Intestinal Immune System and Its Relevance in Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

ABSTRACT: One of the main tasks of the immune system is to discriminate and appropriately react to "danger" or "non-danger" signals. This is crucial in the gastrointestinal tract, where the immune system is confronted with a myriad of food antigens and symbiotic microflora that are in constant contact with the mucosa, in addition to any potential pathogens. This large number of antigens and commensal microflora, which are essential for providing vital nutrients, must be tolerated by the intestinal immune system to prevent aberrant inflammation. Hence, the balance between immune activation versus tolerance should be tightly regulated to maintain intestinal homeostasis and to prevent immune activation indiscriminately against all luminal antigens. Loss of this delicate equilibrium can lead to chronic

SUBMITTER: Di Giovangiulio M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4653294 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature