Enteric glial cells: a new population of intestinal immunomodulators?

In the gastrointestinal tract our immune system is continuously challenged by a myriad of antigens from food and from the symbiotic microflora. Hence, the balance between immune activation versus tolerance should be tightly regulated to maintain intestinal homoeostasis and to prevent immune activation indiscriminately against all luminal antigens. Loss of this delicate equilibrium not only results in many intestinal disorders such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), but also influences the pathogenesis of several other immune-mediated disorders, even in distant organs, such as multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, type 1 diabetes and allergic inflammation. Using a novel experimental co-culture approach developed in our laboratories we have preliminary data showing that enteric glia can modulate immune cells activation during and inflammatory response. However how the communication between enteric glial and immune cells is mediated remains completely unknown. Based on our preliminary data, we hypothesize that enteric glial cells may actively participate in preserving intestinal tissue homeostasis via the release of tolerogenic bioactive factors that interact with immune cells in the gut. In the proposed project, we will explore the molecular mechanisms by which mucosal immune cells and the enteric glia cross-talk, in order to develop novel therapeutic strategies to treat intestinal immune-mediated diseases.

Keywords:Enteric glial cells, intestinal immunomodulators

Disciplines:Gastro-enterology and hepatology