Our immune system keeps gut bacteria in a subtle balance so they benefit and don’t pose a risk of disease, says New Scientist.
Our intestines, mainly the large intestine, are home to billions of bacteria. They constitute up to 80 percent. stool mass. Although several hundred of their species have been identified, 99 percent. belongs to 30-40 species.
Microorganisms perform many useful functions: they ferment certain nutrients, stimulate the immune system to fight pathogenic microorganisms, produce vitamins (biotin and vitamin K), and produce hormones.
David Artis’ team of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in Philadelphia (USA) demonstrated in mice that the gut’s lymphoid cells do not release bacteria from the gut, “barricading” its mucosa and surrounding tissues. This can be very important – for example, in the case of Crohn’s disease in the gut, the number of bacteria in the blood increases significantly. Scientists compare lymphoid cells to sheep dogs.
Indeed, when the mice were depleted of their lymphoid cells, the bacteria spread to other parts of the body. The lymphoid cells secrete a substance called interleukin -22 (IL-22). Administration of IL-22 has proven to be an effective alternative for immune cells. (PAP)
pmw / agt /