Mediators of Gut Mucosal Immunity and Inflammation

The gastrointestinal tract is continuously exposed to foreign antigens such as those derived from food and microbiota of gut. Gut flora is an important entity of human body that plays crucial role in healthy immune system and various immunological disorders. Exploration of interactions between gut flora and immune system is an important area of current investigations. Cytokines and chemokines are the integral component of the adaptive and innate immune response in the gastrointestinal system. Cytokines are involved in a variety of immunological, inflammatory, and infectious diseases. Chemokines are a family of small cytokines or proteins secreted by numerous cells. The major role of chemokines is to guide the migration of particular cells. The mediators of gut mucosal immunity and inflammation are not limited to chemokines and cytokines. There are many inflammatory and anti-inflammatory molecules derived from gut mucosal endothelial cells and leucocytes.