Abstract
The immune system of the gastrointestinal tract must be tightly regulated to limit pathologic responses toward innocuous antigens while simultaneously allowing for rapid development of effector responses against invading pathogens. Highly specialized antigen-presenting cell (APC) subsets present in the gut play a dominant role in balancing these seemingly disparate functions. In this review, we discuss new findings associated with the function of gut APCs and particularly the contextual role of these cells in both establishing tolerance to orally acquired antigens in the steady state and regulating acute inflammation during infection.
Keywords:
Treg; antigen-presenting cell; commensal; dendritic cell; immune regulation; macrophage; monocyte; mucosal; pathogen.
Published 2014. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.
Publication types
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Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
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Research Support, N.I.H., Intramural
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Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
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Review
MeSH terms
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Animals
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Antigen-Presenting Cells / immunology*
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Antigen-Presenting Cells / metabolism
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Forkhead Transcription Factors / metabolism
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Gastrointestinal Tract / immunology*
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Gastrointestinal Tract / metabolism
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Gastrointestinal Tract / microbiology
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Homeostasis / immunology
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Host-Pathogen Interactions / immunology
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Humans
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Immunomodulation
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Inflammation / immunology
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Inflammation / metabolism
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Inflammation / microbiology
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Intestinal Mucosa / immunology
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Intestinal Mucosa / metabolism
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Intestinal Mucosa / microbiology
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Monocytes / immunology
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Monocytes / metabolism
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Phagocytes / immunology
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Phagocytes / metabolism
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T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory / immunology
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T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory / metabolism
Substances
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Forkhead Transcription Factors