Fueling Fire In The Gut

Conventional wisdom suggests that the gut favors a 'mild' local environment because it is necessary for us to live in harmony with a community of beneficial bacteria. However, the gut does respond to harmful bacteria and sometimes to harmless bacteria to cause inflammation. Manjunath and colleagues found that certain cells that produce a molecule called CD70 and reside in a region known as the lamina propria, which is just under the surface of the intestine. These CD70-producing cells are critical for expanding the number of immune T cells during an infection. The cells also help to further equip these T cells with offensive potentials.

Although the precise identity of the CD70-producing cells is still elusive, it is clear that the CD70 molecule is crucial in inducing a heightened immune response. Thus, targeting CD70 and its interacting partner on T cells provides the basis for further investigation into the control of gut immunity.

Author contact:

N. Manjunath (Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA)
Email: swamy@cbr.med.harvard.edu

Additional contact for comments on paper:

Brian L. Kelsall (National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIH, Bethesda, MD, USA)
E-mail: bkelsall@niaid.nih.gov

Also published online(C) Nature Immunology press release.

Message posted by: Trevor M. D'Souza