Intestinal Villous M Cells: An Antigen Entry Site in the Mucosal Epithelium

• Published in: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS Vol. 101; no. 16; pp. 6110 - 6115
• Main Authors: Jang, Myoung Ho, Kweon, Mi-Na, Iwatani, Koichi, Yamamoto, Masafumi, Terahara, Kazutaka, Sasakawa, Chihiro, Suzuki, Toshihiko, Nochi, Tomonori, Yokota, Yoshifumi, Rennert, Paul D., Hiroi, Takachika, Tamagawa, Hiroshi, Iijima, Hideki, Kunisawa, Jun, Yuki, Yoshikazu, Kiyono, Hiroshi, Curtiss, Roy
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States National Academy of Sciences 20.04.2004; National Acad Sciences
• Subjects: Animals; Antigens; Antigens - immunology; B lymphocytes; Bacteria; Bacterial Adhesion; Biological Sciences; Cellular immunity; E coli; Epithelial cells; Epithelium; Gastrointestinal diseases; Immune system; Immunology; Intestinal Mucosa - cytology; Intestinal Mucosa - immunology; Intestinal Mucosa - microbiology; Intestinal Mucosa - ultrastructure; Intestines; Lymphocytes; Mice; Mice, Inbred BALB C; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Mice, Knockout; Microscopy, Electron; Peyer's Patches - immunology; Salmonella; Salmonella typhimurium - physiology; Small intestine

M cells located in the follicle-associated epithelium of Peyer's patches (PP) are shown to be the principal sites for the sampling of gut luminal antigens. Thus, PP have long been considered the gatekeepers of the mucosal immune system. Here, we report a distinct gateway for the uptake of gut b...