Immune Tolerance in the GUT Relies on Dendritic Cells
The differing origins of gut dendritic cells — white blood cells that modulate immune responses — may explain how the intestinal immune system manages to destroy harmful pathogens while tolerating beneficial bacteria says an article by Sophie Laffont & Fiona Powrie in Nature journal out on Dec 10th 2009.
The immune system must protect the body from invading pathogens without mounting damaging responses to its own tissues. Dendritic cells, a rare population of white blood cells, have a crucial role in determining the nature of immune reactions and in fine-tuning the balance between tolerance (where the immune system ignores or tolerates an antigen) and the induction of inflammation to destroy pathogenic organisms.
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Microbes in Mum – Act as Inhibitors of Allergy in Children
A new twist to the hygiene hypothesis shows that allergic risk can also be modulated by microbial exposure before birth. Mice born to dams that were exposed to bacteria during pregnancy were less likely to develop allergic responses than those born to unexposed mothers. And maternal Toll-like receptor (TLR) signals were required for the transmission of protection.
TLRs are a type of pattern recognition receptor (PRR) and recognise molecules that are broadly shared by pathogens but distinguishable from host molecules, collectively referred to as pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs).
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Coeliac Disease – Local & Systemic Consequences
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Coeliac disease is an inflammatory disorder with autoimmune features that is characterised by destruction of the intestinal epithelium and remodelling of the intestinal mucosa following the ingestion of dietary gluten. The human gut is home to trillions of commensal microorganisms, and we are just beginning to understand how these microorganisms interact with, and influence, the host immune system. This may also include the late onset development of Coeliac Disease, or gluten intolerance.
All Immunity is Mucosal – The GUT is No 1
The Gut is The Formula 1 of Immunity
Properly regulated mucosal immunity is critical to overall health and well being. The cells found in the mucosal surfaces of the body meet on a daily basis, local challenges from foods, microbes and environmental pollutants. The result is a series of immunological decisions that on a single day exceed those made by the systemic immune system in a lifetime.
The immune system bound up in these tissues – mostly the ‘innate immune system’, must translate this infornatic onslaught to the ’systemic immune system’ affecting the body as a whole. Immune tolerance or homeostasis in these tissues will help ensure adequate nourishment from passing ‘foreign’ food stuffs and so maintain bacterial/commensal balance. It is this bacterial balance that will ensure immunological tolerance so keeping the balance of power in the hands of health promoters (commensals) via this yin and yang relationship.
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Blastocystis hominis. Is It Really A Problem?
Blastocystis hominis cyst-like forms in a wet mount stained in iodine
Problem?
Michael Ash BSc DO ND FDipION reviews the latest studies on this pathogen.
Blastocystis is an unusual enteric protozoan parasite of humans and many animals. It has a worldwide distribution and is often the most commonly isolated organism in parasitological surveys. The parasite has been described since the early 1900s, but only in the last decade or so have there been significant advances in the understanding of Blastocystis biology.
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Lactobacillus GG: A Potent Immune Regulator Effective in Many Disorders
New Research Reveals Probiotic’s Anti-Toxin, Anti-Inflammatory, Immune Boosting Properties
Lactobacillus GG is the most prolifically researched probiotic in the world—over 400 studies have been published that document its remarkable immune-modulating properties.This unique immunobiotic was isolated from a healthy human in 1985 by a team of two Tufts University researchers,Barry Goldin, M.S., Ph.D. and Sherwood L. Gorbach, M.D. They spent nearly a decade testing organisms until they discovered one that was a potent antimicrobial, survived stomach and bile acid, and was very, very sticky—it adhered well to the gut mucosa.
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LGG (Culturelle) Its Workings Are Explained
Valio’s Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (LGG®) is the most frequently studied and used probiotic. Under the supervision of researchers at the Institute of Biotechnology, and the Department of Basic Veterinary Sciences at the University of Helsinki, an international research team determined the genome sequences of LGG and a bacterium closely related to it. The results, published in the renowned PNAS journal, shed light on the origin of probiotic mechanisms.
Many research publications have confirmed that bacteria promote health and support immune systems and improve digestion. Some probiotics can also alleviate the symptoms suffered by those with irritable bowel syndrome. As many as every fifth westerner suffers from this pain, also called spastic colon. Studies say that LGG probiotics are also an effective treatment method for reducing children’s atopic symptoms, and the risk of respiratory infections.
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Whats New in The Understanding Of The Immunology Of Ulcerative Colitis?
IBD’s are characterised by wasting and chronic intestinal inflammation induced by many different cytokine-mediated pathways. It is clearly recognised that medical and surgical interventions do not cure Crohn’s disease because relapse is the rule after remission.
Until a few years ago, IBD was classified into Th1-dependent, that is, Crohn’s disease, and Th2-dependent, that is, ulcerative colitis, phenotypes. However, in recent years, it has been shown that new T-cell subclasses, that is, Th17 and regulatory T cells (TR), exist independently of Th1 and Th2 and that they play a central role in modulating IBD.
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A Novel Approach to Treating Depression – How Probiotics Can Shift Mood by Modulating Cytokines
Michael E. Ash, BSc.(Hons) DO. ND. F.Dip ION has written an overview from a clinical perspective of the emerging science related to the mucosal immune system and the health of the brain in relation to affect. Published by the in house journal from Allergy Research Group it provides a strategic approach to managing individuals using a novel probiotic strategy.
From our early days in utero until we die, the ability of the GI tract to renew and replenish itself and maintain a stable relationship with trillions of bacteria is astounding. On a typical day the innate immune system of our gastrointestinal tract will process more immunological information than the rest of our body in its entire lifetime. It’s an absolute immunological miracle we can consume antigenic particles of food and not drop down dead every time we do so.
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Bonnie Bassler on how bacteria “talk”
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