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Mucosal immunology

Intestinal tuft cells: weep, sweep … secrete

Nature Reviews Immunology volume 24, page 455 (2024)Cite this article

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Two papers in Immunity describe a role for acetylcholine (ACh) secretion by intestinal tuft cells in the anti-helminth response, independent of signalling to classical immune cells, via direct effects on epithelial cells and worms.

One such effector is ACh, which is released by tuft cells via expression of choline acetyltransferase (ChAT). Neuronal ACh regulates epithelial secretion of fluid, mucus and antimicrobial peptides, but non-neuronal functions of tuft cell-derived ACh in the intestine were previously unknown.

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  1. Nature Reviews Immunology http://www.nature.com/nri/

    Kirsty Minton

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  1. Kirsty Minton
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Correspondence to Kirsty Minton.

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Minton, K. Intestinal tuft cells: weep, sweep … secrete. Nat Rev Immunol 24, 455 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41577-024-01052-2

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