title: Hepatic gateways.
abstract: The intestinal mucosal barrier contributes to homeostasis by limiting systemic dissemination of microbes and toxins while allowing nutrients to pass through to the systemic circulation. In a recent issue of Science, Spadoni et al. demonstrated a novel mechanism to enable this selectivity: the existence of a gut-vascular barrier (GVB) as indicated by a series of studies on the interaction between murine and human intestine with Salmonella typhimurium species . They showed that (i) enteroglial cells and pericytes in contact with endothelial cells (ECs) form the GVB (ii) Salmonella typhimurium can penetrate it by a mechanism dependent on the pathogenicity island (Spi) 2-encoded type III secretion system and on decreased β-catenin dependent signaling in gut endothelial cells. Understanding the GVB may provide new insights into the regulation of the gut-liver axis.
authors.affiliation: a Department of HPB Surgery and Liver Transplantation , St Vincent's University Hospital , Dublin , Ireland.|b UCD School of Medicine , University College Dublin , Dublin , Ireland.
authors.forename: K Venkatesha
authors.initials: KV
authors.lastname: Udupa
authors.affiliation: c Veterinary Science Centre, School of Veterinary Medicine , University College Dublin , Dublin , Ireland.
authors.forename: David J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Brayden
authors.affiliation: b UCD School of Medicine , University College Dublin , Dublin , Ireland.|d Department of Colorectal Surgery , St Vincent's University Hospital , Dublin , Ireland.
authors.forename: Desmond C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Winter
authors.affiliation: c Veterinary Science Centre, School of Veterinary Medicine , University College Dublin , Dublin , Ireland.
authors.forename: Alan W
authors.initials: AW
authors.lastname: Baird
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002199:Capillary Permeability / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007422:Intestines / Q000276:immunology* / Q000382:microbiology*; D064307:Microbiota / Q000276:immunology*; D012480:Salmonella Infections / Q000276:immunology*; D012486:Salmonella typhimurium / Q000276:immunology*
keywords: Gut-vascular barrier; Wnt/β-catenin signalling; cryptogenic liver abscess; gut-liver axis; oral drug bioavailability