The intestinal epithelium, the largest interface between the host and environment, regulates fluxes of ions and nutrients and limits host contact with the massive load of luminal antigens. Local protective and tolerogenic immune responses toward luminal content depend on antigen sampling by the gut epithelial layer. Whether, and how exaggerated, the entrance of antigenic macromolecules across the gut epithelium might initiate and/or perpetuate chronic inflammation as well as the respective contribution of paracellular and transcellular permeability remains a matter of debate. To this extent, experimental studies involving the in vivo assessment of intestinal permeability using small inert molecules do not necessarily correlate with the uptake of larger dietary antigens. This review analyzes both the structural and functional aspects of intestinal permeability with special emphasis on antigen handling in healthy and diseased states and consequences on local immune responses to food antigens.
Multiple facets of intestinal permeability and epithelial handling of dietary antigens
S. Ménard,Nadine Cerf-Bensussan,Martine Heyman
Published 2010 in Mucosal Immunology
ABSTRACT
PUBLICATION RECORD
- Publication year
2010
- Venue
Mucosal Immunology
- Publication date
2010-03-10
- Fields of study
Biology, Medicine, Environmental Science
- Identifiers
- External record
- Source metadata
Semantic Scholar, PubMed
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