Intestinal dendritic cells in the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease

The gastrointestinal tract harbors a large number and diverse array of commensal bacteria and is an important entry site for pathogens.For these reasons,the intestinal immune system is uniquely dedicated to protect against infections,while avoiding the development of destructive inflammatory responses to the microbiota.Several models have been proposed to explain how the immune system discriminates between,and appropriately responds to,commensal and pathogenic microorganisms.Dendritic cells(DCs)and regulato...