Dendritic cells in intestinal immune regulation

An important feature of the intestinal immune system is its ability to protect against infection while avoiding the development of destructive inflammatory responses to the normal microbiota and dietary antigens.Populations of intestinal dendritic cells (DCs) display unique functional properties. They have been implicated both in the maintenance of tolerance towards harmless antigens, and in the generation of protective immune responses against pathogens.Recent data suggests that intestinal DCs can promote differentiation of forkhead box P3 (FOXP3)+ regulatory T cells from naive precursors. Transforming growth factor-β and retinoic acid have an important role in this process.Conditioning of DCs in their local tissue environment may have an important role in shaping their function.A breakdown in intestinal homeostasis can result in chronic inflammatory diseases of the gut including inflammatory bowel disease. Inappropriate or aberrant DC function may have a role in the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease.