The cooperation of the intestinal immune cells with the bacteria inhabiting there protects the intestines and protects against tissue damage caused by inflammatory processes, inform scientists from France in the journal Nature Immunology.
Man is born with a completely sterile intestine, but in the first days of life, good bacteria and other microorganisms enter our intestines, which establish a symbiotic (mutually beneficial) relationship with each other.
G, Rard Eberl and colleagues from the Pasteur Institute in Paris showed that newborn mice and rodents kept in a completely germ-free environment have natural immune cells in their intestines that produce significant amounts of a protein called interleukin 22 (IL-22). IL-22 causes the production of antibacterial substances in the cells that line the gut. Only after the intestines are colonized by good bacteria, this process is inhibited by another protein of the immune cells – interleukin 25 (IL-25).
Injury to the gut due to infection or harmful chemicals activates the production of IL-22 and antibacterial proteins, thus accelerating the healing of the damaged gut and restoring a healthy balance. (PAP)