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Regional Control of Regulatory Immune Cells in the Intestine

  • Microbiome and Tissue Homeostasis (AS Neish and R Jones, Section Editors)
  • Published:
Current Pathobiology Reports

Abstract

Purpose of Review

The intestine contains the largest compartment of immune regulatory cells which include T regulatory cells and IL-10-producing macrophages. These cell populations serve to restrain unnecessary immune responses of the intestine, which may lead to the pathogenesis of Crohn’s disease or food allergy.

Recent Findings

This review discusses the recent findings pertaining to the functional regulation of these cells which may provide insight into novel therapies. Both T regulatory cells and macrophages are regulated in microbiota-dependent and microbiota-independent manners, i.e., dietary antigens. Often, this is specific to regional specialization and environment in small intestine vs. colon.

Summary

These immune regulatory cells are largely regulated by microbiota in the colon, whereas in the small intestine, the microbiota has less affect, as seen in germ-free mouse studies. Targeting these cells in their specific compartments may direct future treatment modalities for inflammatory bowel disease as ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s are vastly different diseases.

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Funding

This work was supported by NIH T32 DK094775 (T.L.M.), DK110146 and DK108901 (N.K.).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA

    Tina L. Morhardt

  2. Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Michigan, 1150 W. Medical Center Drive, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA

    Atsushi Hayashi, John Y. Kao & Nobuhiko Kamada

  3. Miyarisan Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Research Laboratory, Tokyo, 114-0016, Japan

    Atsushi Hayashi

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  1. Tina L. Morhardt
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  2. Atsushi Hayashi
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  3. John Y. Kao
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  4. Nobuhiko Kamada
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Correspondence to Nobuhiko Kamada.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

T.L.M, J.Y.K, and N.K. have no financial conflicts of interest. A.H. is employed by Miyarisan Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.

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This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Microbiome and Tissue Homeostasis

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Morhardt, T.L., Hayashi, A., Kao, J.Y. et al. Regional Control of Regulatory Immune Cells in the Intestine. Curr Pathobiol Rep 6, 29–34 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40139-018-0156-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40139-018-0156-z

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