Collaboration of epithelial cells with organized mucosal lymphoid tissues
Marian R. Neutra1, Nicholas J. Mantis1
& Jean-Pierre Kraehenbuhl2
1
Children's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Enders 1220, 300 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
2
Swiss Institute for Experimental Cancer Research and the Institute of Biochemistry, University of Lausanne, Chemin des Boveresses, CH-1066 Epalinges, Switzerland.
Immune surveillance of mucosal surfaces requires the delivery of intact macromolecules and microorganisms across epithelial barriers to organized mucosal lymphoid tissues. Transport, processing and presentation of foreign antigens, as well as local induction and clonal expansion of antigen-specific effector lymphocytes, involves a close collaboration between organized lymphoid tissues and the specialized follicle-associated epithelium. M cells in the follicle-associated epithelium transport foreign macromolecules and microorganisms to antigen-presenting cells within and under the epithelial barrier. Determination of the earliest cellular interactions that occur in and under the follicle-associated epithelium could greatly facilitate the design of effective mucosal vaccines in the future.
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