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Regulation Of Gut Commensal-Specific T Cell Differentiation By Dendritic Cell Subsets, Emilie Russler-Germain

Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The mammalian gastrointestinal tract can harbor both beneficial commensal organisms important for host health, but also pathogenic organisms capable of intestinal damage. It is therefore important that the host immune system mounts appropriate responses to different intestinal organisms – promoting tolerance to some, controlling the colonization of others, and inducing sterilizing immunity in cases of noxious pathogens. Failure to induce tolerance to commensal organisms may underlie immune-mediated diseases such as human inflammatory bowel disease, while inappropriate tolerance to more harmful organisms has the potential to result in infection, inflammation, or even malabsorption. Adaptive immune responses to intestinal commensal organisms are …