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. 1999 Jan;44(1):2–5. doi: 10.1136/gut.44.1.2

Intestinal IgA: novel views on its function in the defence of the largest mucosal surface

J MESTECKY 1, M RUSSELL 1, C ELSON 1
PMCID: PMC1760065  PMID: 9862815

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Examples of interactions of epithelial cells with lymphocytes in mucosal defence. Viruses and bacteria which invade epithelial cells stimulate production of several pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines; some of them (e.g. IL-6, IL-10, and TGFβ) participate in differentiation of arriving B cells into IgA producing plasma cells.3 Mucosal T cells of Th1 lineage which are abundant in the intestinal lamina propria produce, among other cytokines, IFN-γ which upregulates the expression of pIgR on epithelial cells, thus facilitating transepithelial transport of pIgA onto the luminal surface.7 S-IgA can interact with luminal antigens (Ag) and inhibit their absorption by epithelial cells (a). Antigens which escape such luminal exclusion (e.g. viruses)2425 encounter transported pIgA within the epithelial cells resulting in intracellular neutralisation (b). Antigens which penetrate the epithelial barrier interact with pIgA in the lamina propria and are eliminated as Ag-pIgA complexes by the pIgR dependent mechanism (c).25


Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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