Review
Nature Reviews Immunology 1, 59-67 (October 2001) | doi:10.1038/35095573
Man the barrier! strategic defences in the intestinal mucosa
Cathryn Nagler-Anderson1 About the author
Abstract
Immunologists typically study the immune responses induced in the spleen or peripheral lymph nodes after parenteral immunization with antigen and poorly defined experimental adjuvants. However, most antigens enter the body through mucosal surfaces. It is now clear that the microenvironment in these mucosal barriers has a marked influence on the immune response that ultimately ensues. Nowhere is the microenvironment more influential than in the gut-associated lymphoid tissue (GALT). The GALT must constantly distinguish harmless antigens that are present in food or on commensal bacteria from pathogenic assault by microbes. It is perhaps not surprising, then, that the GALT contains more lymphocytes than all of the secondary lymphoid organs combined.
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Author affiliations
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Department of Pediatrics, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Building 114, 16th Street, Room 3600, Charlestown, Massachusetts 02129, USA.
Email: nagler_a@helix.mgh.harvard.edu

