T cells with variable region Vä1ãä T cell receptors (TCRs) are distributed throughout the human intestinal epithelium and may function as sentinels that respond to self antigens. The expression of a major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I-related molecule, MICA, matches this localization. MICA and the closely related MICB were recognized by intestinal epithelial T cells expressing divers...

Columnar epithelium-lined oesophagus (CELO) is an acquired disorder associated with a high incidence of cancer. CELO consists of three histological types of epithelium: gastric-fundic, junctional, and specialised columnar, the last resembling intestinal metaplasia of the stomach. In a previous study of CELO an incompletely differentiated variant of intestinal metaplasia secreting sulphomucins (...

The composition of the intestinal luminal content varies considerably with diet. It is important therefore that the intestinal epithelium senses and responds to these significant changes and regulates its functions accordingly. Although it is becoming evident that the gut epithelium senses and responds to luminal nutrients, little is known about the nature of the nutrient sensing molecule and t...

The disruption of tight junction protein expression in cancer might account for invasiveness, loss of cohesion, and lack of differentiation. Our cDNA array data indicated that claudin 7 was up-regulated in gastric carcinoma. We investigated the expression patterns and clinical implications of claudin 7 in gastric cancer. By immunohistochemical staining and Western blot, claudin 7 was significan...

AIM Neutrophil migration in the intestine depends on chemotaxis of neutrophils to CXC chemokines produced by epithelial cells. The goal of this project was to determine if acute induction of a CXC chemokine gradient originating from intestinal epithelial cells is sufficient to induce neutrophil influx into intact intestinal tissue. METHODS AND RESULTS The authors developed a double transgenic...

The human intestine is a dynamic organ where the complex host-microbe interactions that orchestrate intestinal homeostasis occur. Major contributing factors associated with intestinal health and diseases include metabolically-active gut microbiota, intestinal epithelium, immune components, and rhythmical bowel movement known as peristalsis. Human intestinal disease models have been developed; h...

The intestine, as a barrier epithelium, serves in the first line of defense against invading pathogens and damaging agents that enter the body via food ingestion. Maintenance of intestinal homeostasis is therefore key to organismal health. To maintain homeostasis, intestinal stem cells (ISCs) continuously replace lost or damaged intestinal epithelial cells in organisms ranging from Drosophila t...