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Mucosal immunology

Infection induces friendly fire

Nature volume 490, pages 41–43 (2012)Cite this article

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Our immune system usually ignores 'friendly' gut bacteria. But when infection with a pathogen damages the intestine's mucosal lining, the resident microbes can invade the body, inducing immune responses directed at themselves.

The mammalian gastrointestinal tract harbours an extensive microbial community that is usually well tolerated by the immune system. Sometimes, however, inappropriate immune responses directed against these 'commensal' organisms arise, such as in inflammatory bowel disease. But how such responses are triggered is unclear. Writing in Science, Hand et al.1 demonstrate that pathogenic infections that disrupt the integrity of the gut's mucosal barriers can precipitate the development of long-lived immunity directed against the host's resident microbes.

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Figure 1: Breaching the barrier.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. David Masopust and Vaiva Vezys are in the Department of Microbiology, Center for Immunology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, USA.,

    David Masopust & Vaiva Vezys

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  1. David Masopust
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  2. Vaiva Vezys
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Correspondence to David Masopust or Vaiva Vezys.

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Masopust, D., Vezys, V. Infection induces friendly fire. Nature 490, 41–43 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/490041a

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