Gut immune cells and intestinal niche imprinting

Abstract

The intestine comprises the largest proportion of immune cells in the body. It is continuously exposed to new antigens and immune stimuli from the diet, microbiota but also from intestinal pathogens. In this review, we describe the main populations of immune cells present along the intestine, both from the innate and adaptive immune system. We later discuss how intestinal niches significantly impact the phenotype and function of gut immune populations at steady state and upon infection.

Keywords: Epithelial cells; Immune cells; Imprinting; Intestine; Niche; Retinoic acid.