Molecular aspects of intestinal epithelial cell-bacterial interactions that determine the development of intestinal inflammation.

The mechanisms by which intestinal epithelial cells perceive and respond to microbes, both pathogenic and commensal, is important to understand the pathogenesis of inflammatory diseases. Recent work has established that most eukaryotic cells possess families of receptors that can detect the structural signatures of prokaryotic life. Cells respond to the detection of microbes by activation of distinct cytoplasmic signaling cascades that ultimately result in the transcriptional activation of programs of genes with proinflammatory and anti-apoptotic function. These responses generally suffice to eliminate microbial threats. Also important are potential mechanisms by which microbes can influence the intestinal epithelial responses, influences with significant implications for the normal function of the intestine and inflammatory diseases.