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The Epithelial Barrier

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Molecular Genetics of Inflammatory Bowel Disease

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Abstract

The intestinal epithelium serves as the first line of defense against pathogens in the gut. Breakdown of the epithelial barrier is a hallmark of inflammatory bowel diseases, in which epithelial dysfunction leads to a fulminant immune response to luminal antigens. Mounting evidence suggests that impaired epithelial homeostasis due to genetic predisposition is causatively involved in IBD pathogenesis. In this chapter, we provide a contemporary review on IBD risk factors that may affect the intestinal epithelium and summarize major complementary observations from preclinical animal models of colitis.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine (IKE), Faculty of Health Sciences, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden

    Celia Escudero-Hernández & Stefan Koch

  2. Wallenberg Centre for Molecular Medicine (WCMM), Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden

    Stefan Koch

Authors
  1. Celia Escudero-Hernández
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  2. Stefan Koch
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Stefan Koch .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Gastroenterology unit, Patient Area Gastroenterology, Dermatovenereology and Rheumatology, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden

    Charlotte Hedin

  2. Montreal Heart Institute and Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada

    John D. Rioux

  3. School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, Australia

    Mauro D'Amato

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Escudero-Hernández, C., Koch, S. (2019). The Epithelial Barrier. In: Hedin, C., Rioux, J., D'Amato, M. (eds) Molecular Genetics of Inflammatory Bowel Disease. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-28703-0_15

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