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Updated: Jun 19, 2026

Isolation and Characterization of Dendritic Cells and Macrophages from the Mouse Intestine
Published on: May 21, 2012
Regulation of TH17 cells in the mucosal surfaces
Daniel Mucida1, Shahram Salek-Ardakani
1Division of Developmental Immunology, La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology, La Jolla, Calif 92037, USA. mucida@liai.org
Abstract:
The mucosal surfaces represent the main intersection between jawed vertebrates and the environment. The mucosal surface of the intestine alone forms the largest surface that is exposed to exogenous antigens as well as the largest collection of lymphoid tissue in the body. Therefore, a protective immune activity must coexist with efficient regulatory mechanisms to maintain a health status of these organisms. The discovery of a new lineage of T(H) cells that produce IL-17 has provided valuable new insight into host defense and the pathogenesis of inflammatory diseases at the mucosal surfaces. Of particular interest for these surfaces, it has been reported that peripherally-induced regulatory T cells and T(H)17 effector cells arise in a mutually exclusive fashion, depending on whether they are activated in the presence of TGF-beta or TGF-beta plus inflammatory cytokines such as IL-6. This review addresses the protective and pathogenic roles of T(H)17 cells in the mucosal surfaces and potential regulatory mechanisms that control their development.
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