<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>

The following article is free this month, December 2004, only.  You may
need to register (free) with Nature Publishing Group to access it. For the
scientifically oriented, this article provides an excellent review of the
immune, tolerance, and defence mechanisms of the gut and the relationship
with gut microflora.  The immune reponse to gluten in celiacs is much like
the immune response to pathogenic bacteria.  Along with its relevance to
other inflammatory bowel disorders, the review makes for great background
material.  Download the article free while you can.

http://www.nature.com/nri/

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Nat Rev Immunol. 2004 Dec;4(12):953-64

War and peace at mucosal surfaces.

Sansonetti PJ.

Unite de Pathogenie Microbienne Moleculaire, U389 INSERM and Howard Hughes
Medical Institute, Institut Pasteur, 28 Rue du Docteur Roux, 75724 Paris
cedex 15, France. [log in to unmask]

That we live with numerous bacteria in our gut without any adverse effects
is a remarkable feat by the body's immune system, particularly considering
the wealth of sensing and effector systems that are available to trigger
inflammatory or innate immune responses to microbial intrusion. So, a fine
line seems to exist between the homeostatic balance maintained in the
presence of commensal gut flora and the necessarily destructive response to
bacterial pathogens that invade the gut mucosa. This review discusses the
mechanisms for establishing and controlling the 'dialogue' between
unresponsiveness and initiation of active immune defences in the gut. Si
vis pacem, para bellum. (If you wish for peace, prepare for war.).

PMID: 15573130 [PubMed - in process]

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