Learning tolerance while fighting ignorance.
Research on microbe-host interactions focuses principally on pathogens, yet our immune system must deal with the huge number of beneficial commensal bacteria in our gut. It is becoming clear that the host immune system must reach a delicate balance between destroying dangerous bacterial pathogens while preserving the beneficial gut microbiota.
Sansonetti
Philippe J
PJ
Unité de Pathogénie Microbienne Moléculaire, Institut Pasteur, 75724 Paris Cedex 15, France; Microbiologie et Maladies Infectieuses, Collège de France, 75231 Paris Cedex 05, France. psanson@pasteur.fr
Medzhitov
Ruslan
R
D000818:Animals; D001419:Bacteria / Q000276:immunology*; D041981:Gastrointestinal Tract / Q000276:immunology* / Q000382:microbiology*; D054884:Host-Pathogen Interactions; D006801:Humans; D007108:Immune Tolerance; D019936:Probiotics