title: Type I and III Interferon in the Gut: Tight Balance between Host Protection and Immunopathology.
abstract: The intestinal mucosa forms an active interface to the outside word, facilitating nutrient and water uptake and at the same time acts as a barrier toward the highly colonized intestinal lumen. A tight balance of the mucosal immune system is essential to tolerate harmless antigens derived from food or commensals and to effectively defend against potentially dangerous pathogens. Interferons (IFN) provide a first line of host defense when cells detect an invading organism. Whereas type I IFN were discovered almost 60 years ago, type III IFN were only identified in the early 2000s. It was initially thought that type I IFN and type III IFN performed largely redundant functions. However, it is becoming increasingly clear that type III IFN exert distinct and non-redundant functions compared to type I IFN, especially in mucosal tissues. Here, we review recent progress made in unraveling the role of type I/III IFN in intestinal mucosal tissue in the steady state, in response to mucosal pathogens and during inflammation.
authors.affiliation: Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, University of Oxford , Oxford , UK.
authors.forename: Johanna
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pott
authors.affiliation: Institute of Animal Breeding and Genetics, University of Veterinary Medicine , Vienna , Austria.
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Stockinger
keywords: IFN-λ; coeliac disease; colitis; enteropathogens; inflammatory bowel diseases; interferon; intestinal mucosa; type 1 IFN