Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0022104 (irritable bowel syndrome)
 8,033 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The mucosal immune system consists of a number of compartments that are populated with a different assortment of cells and serve different functions. The cytokines produced by the cells in each of these compartments are currently being defined. This is best understood in relation to B cells, whose proliferation and maturation is guided by a sequence of cytokines. PP are inductive sites that preferentially stimulate IgA production. At least in part, this preference seems to be due to the T cells located in PP, which have been shown to stimulate switching to IgA production by cognate interactions and production of TGF-beta. Postswitch B cells expressing surface IgA respond to IL-5, a cytokine produced by T cells in GALT. Terminal differentiation to IgA-producing plasma cells in the lamina propria may be driven by IL-6, which can be produced by a variety of cells in the lamina propria and by epithelial cells. T cells in the lamina propria have an assortment of surface markers consistent with both activation and memory and appear to produce a variety of cytokines in the local environment that presumably act in normal host defense. IEL consist mainly of CD8+ T cells. They have been shown to produce IFN-gamma and, very likely, other cytokines that presumably act in a paracrine fashion on local enterocytes. How these cells and cytokines are perturbed during intestinal inflammation is currently being defined. A certain assortment of cytokines are greatly increased in IBD. This assortment, including IL-1, IL-6, and IL-8, is elevated in a wide variety of chronic inflammatory states in other tissues as well. A critical requirement for cytokines to exert their effects is the expression of specific receptors on target cells. Virtually nothing is known about this aspect of mucosal immunity, but receptor expression on mucosal cells must be defined before we will be able to understand the complex interactions among lymphoid cells, the cytokines they produce, and the local stromal and epithelial cells.
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PMID:Cells and cytokines in mucosal immunity and inflammation. 151 47

The etiologies of the inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD; Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis) have not been fully elucidated. However, there is very good evidence implicating T cell and T cell trafficking to the gut and its associated lymphoid tissue as important components in disease pathogenesis. The objective of this review is to provide an overview of the mechanisms involved in naive and effector T cell trafficking to the gut-associated lymphoid tissue (GALT; Peyer's patches, isolated lymphoid follicles), mesenteric lymph nodes and intestine in response to commensal enteric antigens under physiological conditions as well as during the induction of chronic gut inflammation. In addition, recent data suggests that the GALT may not be required for enteric antigen-driven intestinal inflammation in certain mouse models of IBD. These new data suggest a possible paradigm shift in our understanding of how and where naive T cells become activated to yield disease-producing effector cells.
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PMID:Gut-associated lymphoid tissue, T cell trafficking, and chronic intestinal inflammation. 2096 11

A new era in medical science has dawned with the realization of the critical role of the "forgotten organ," the enteric flora, in health and disease. Central to this beneficial interaction between the flora and humans is the manner in which the bacteria contained within the gut "talk" to the immune system and, in particular, the immune system that is widespread within the gut itself, the gut- (or mucosa-) associated lymphoid tissue (GALT or MALT). Into this landscape comes a new player: the probiotic. While many products have masqueraded as probiotics, only those that truly and reproducibly contain live organisms and have been shown, in high-quality human studies, to confer a health benefit can actually claim this title. Several human disease states have benefited from the use of probiotics, most notably diarrheal illnesses, some inflammatory bowel diseases, and certain infectious disorders. Irritable bowel syndrome can now be added to this list. Although this area holds much promise, more high-quality trials of probiotics in digestive disorders, as well as laboratory investigations of their mechanisms of action, are required.
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PMID:Probiotics in gastrointestinal disorders. 2106 36