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Human Intestinal Dendritic Cells in Inflammatory Bowel Diseases
Author(s) -
Bernardo David,
Chaparro María,
Gisbert Javier P.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
molecular nutrition and food research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.495
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1613-4133
pISSN - 1613-4125
DOI - 10.1002/mnfr.201700931
Subject(s) - medicine , inflammatory bowel disease , immune system , ulcerative colitis , immunology , disease , gastrointestinal tract , crohn's disease , population , environmental health
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), including Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, is a serious, costly, and persistent health problem with an estimated prevalence in Western countries around 0.5% of the general population; its socioeconomic impact is comparable with that for chronic diseases such as diabetes. Conventional treatment involves escalating drug regimens with concomitant side effects followed, in some cases, by surgical interventions, which are often multiple, mainly in Crohn's disease. The goal of finding a targeted gut‐specific immunotherapy for IBD patients is therefore an important unmet need. However, to achieve this goal we first must understand how dendritic cells (DC), the most potent antigen present cells of the immune system, control the immune tolerance in the gastrointestinal tract and how their properties are altered in those patients suffering from IBD. In this review, we summarize the current available information regarding human intestinal DC subsets composition, phenotype, and function in the human gastrointestinal tract describing how, in the IBD mucosa, DC display pro‐inflammatory properties, which drive disease progression. A better understanding of the mechanisms inducing DC abnormal profile in IBD may provide us with novel tools to perform tissue specific immunomodulation.