title: Role of microbiota in postnatal maturation of intestinal T-cell responses.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Taking advantage of their rapid growth and capacity for continuous genetic adaptation, prokaryotes have colonized all possible ecological environments on earth, including the body surfaces of eukaryotes and their gastrointestinal tract. The mammalian gut contains a complex community of 10 bacteria with a meta-genome containing 1500-fold more genes than the human genome. The forces that control the relationships between eukaryotic hosts and their intestinal bacterial symbionts have, thus, become a major focus of interest.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Recent data have highlighted how the dialogue between mammalian hosts and their microbiota stimulates the postnatal maturation of an efficient intestinal barrier that promotes niche colonization by symbiotic bacteria and opposes colonization by pathogens. Herein, we review microbiota-induced T-cell responses and discuss how individual bacteria may shape the balance between regulatory and inflammatory responses. We will also show how host factors might influence the outcome of gut immune responses and affect the structure of the microbiota.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Deciphering host-microbiota reciprocal influence may not only help in understanding the recent outburst of intestinal inflammatory diseases but also point to strategies able to maintain or restore intestinal homeostasis.
authors.affiliation: INSERM U989, Université Paris Descartes, Paris and INRA, UMR1319 Micalis, Jouy-en-Josas, France.
authors.forename: Valérie
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Gaboriau-Routhiau
authors.forename: Emelyne
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Lécuyer
authors.forename: Nadine
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Cerf-Bensussan
mesh_terms: D054884:Host-Pathogen Interactions; D006801:Humans; D018928:Immunity, Mucosal / Q000502:physiology*; D007413:Intestinal Mucosa / Q000276:immunology*; D054892:Metagenome / Q000276:immunology / Q000502:physiology*; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*