title: Role of flagellin in Crohn's disease: emblematic of the progress and enigmas in understanding inflammatory bowel disease.
abstract: Elevated immune responses to the enteric microbiota have long been associated with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), especially Crohn's disease. In recent years there has been considerable progress in identifying a number of the specific bacterial and host molecules whose interactions mediate these responses. However, deciphering the role of these interactions in the pathophysiology of IBD remains a difficult challenge, in part due to the very complex nature of the epithelial cell / microbial / immune cell interactions that play a central role in maintaining the gut's well-being. This article reviews such progress and discusses these challenges in the context of focusing on 1 particular protein, bacterial flagellin.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia 30322, USA.
authors.forename: Matam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vijay-Kumar
authors.forename: Andrew T
authors.initials: AT
authors.lastname: Gewirtz
mesh_terms: D003424:Crohn Disease / Q000276:immunology*; D005408:Flagellin / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans
chemical_list: D005408:Flagellin