Recent advances in gut immunology

Abstract

In recent years, there have been significant advances in our understanding of the mucosal immune system. In addition to unravelling some of the complexities of this system, including the discovery of completely new cells types, further insights into the three-way interactions between mucosal immune cells, the intestinal epithelium and the microbial communities colonizing the GI tract promise to redefine our understanding of how intestinal homeostasis is maintained, but also how dysregulation of these highly integrated interactions conspires to cause disease. In this review, we will discuss major recent advances in the role of key immune players in the gut, including innate lymphoid cells (ILCs), mucosa-associated invariant T cells (MAIT cells) and cells of the mononuclear phagocyte system (MPS), including how these cells interact with the intestinal epithelial and their crosstalk with components of the intestinal microbiota, and how these interactions shape host health.