Nat Immunol: relationship between intestinal microorganisms and immune system

February 20, 2020 news / Biogen / -- in a recent study, researchers from the Sanger Institute of Huikang created the first detailed cell map of human colon immune cells and intestinal bacteria, showing the changes of bacterial microbiome and immune cells in the whole colon As part of the human cell mapping program, these results will enable new research into diseases that affect specific areas of the colon, such as ulcerative colitis and colorectal cancer The results were published in Nature Immunology The intestinal microbiome is a complex ecosystem composed of millions of microorganisms, which are believed to play an important role in digestion, immune system regulation and disease prevention Imbalances in the gut microbiome can lead to autoimmune diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease and asthma The gut also has a rich immune cell community, which helps to repair tissues and prevent infection However, little is known about how the microbiome interacts with intestinal resident immune cells, which immune cells and bacteria coexist in different locations, and why different diseases affect different areas of the intestine To illustrate this, the researchers looked at three different parts of a healthy colon from an organ donor and analyzed the immune cells and bacterial microbiome in each area By sequencing the active genes of 41000 individual immune cells, they were able to identify cell type specific genes that were turned on in different immune cell populations at each location They also identified bacteria in the same colon region to reveal the interaction between the immune system and bacteria Studies have shown that there are not only differences between immune cells in different parts of the colon, but also subtle changes in the microbiome There are more types of bacteria under the colon Previous studies in mice have shown that immune cells in lymph nodes can target specific targets This study is the first to show that regulatory immune cells that inhibit immune responses migrate from lymph nodes to the colon This may be a way for the gut to tolerate or even 'welcome' the microbiome Dr Sarah TEICHMANN, senior author of the paper, said: "this study is part of the global human cell mapping project, which aims to map every cell type in the human cell map It enables people to have a new understanding of the relationship between immune cells and microbiome in healthy colon tissue, and by enabling us to further study cells in specific areas, it will provide important reference for the ongoing research on diseases affecting specific areas of the disease " Source of information: gut bacteria's interactions with immune system mapped original source: Kylie R James et al Distinct micro and immune NICs of the human colon, Nature Immunology (2020) Doi: 10.1038/s41590-020-0602-z