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Immunobiology of Epithelial Cells in Inflammatory Bowel Disease

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Crohn's Disease and Ulcerative Colitis

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Abstract

The epithelium of the GI tract, which represents the greatest body surface area, is constantly exposed to the outside environment. The intestinal epithelium forms barriers that are essential to life. It supports nutrient and water transport while preventing microbial invasion. Intestinal epithelial cells (IECs) sit at the interface between an antigen-rich lumen and a lymphocyte-rich lamina propria (LPLs). IECs have the capacity to discriminate between “peaceful and harmful” antigens and to carry the information on to the LPLs, thereby activating populations of unique regulatory T cells. The epithelium is constantly sampling luminal contents and making molecular adjustments at to them. These molecular changes impose key decisions on innate and adaptive immune cells. The crosstalk that occurs between the epithelium and the immune compartments serves to maintain intestinal homeostasis. The complex integration and execution of these functions will be discussed in this chapter.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Immunology Institute, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, 1425 Madison Avenue, 1089, New York, NY, 10128, USA

    Stephanie Dahan PhD & Lloyd Mayer MD

  2. Division of Gastroenterology, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA

    Vera K. Denmark MD

  3. Division of Clinical Immunology, Mount Sinai Medical Center, New York, NY, USA

    Lloyd Mayer MD

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  1. Stephanie Dahan PhD
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  2. Vera K. Denmark MD
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  3. Lloyd Mayer MD
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Correspondence to Lloyd Mayer MD .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Medical School of the Humboldt Universit, Department of Medicine, Charité Medical Center, Virchow Hospita, Berlin, 13344, Germany

    Daniel C. Baumgart

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Dahan, S., Denmark, V.K., Mayer, L. (2012). Immunobiology of Epithelial Cells in Inflammatory Bowel Disease. In: Baumgart, D. (eds) Crohn's Disease and Ulcerative Colitis. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-0998-4_14

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-0998-4_14

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