We assessed the role of the nonclassical class I molecule, CD1d, in the interaction between intestinal epithelial cells and T cells. In a mixed lymphocyte reaction (MLR) system where the stimulator cells were irradiated normal intestinal cells, the anti-CD1d monoclonal antibody (mAb) 3C11 inhibited T cell proliferation. In contrast, no inhibition was seen when mAb 3C11 was added to conventional...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Determination of intracellular signalling pathways that mediate intestinal epithelial proliferation is fundamental to the understanding of the integrity and function of the intestinal tract under normal and diseased conditions. The phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt pathway transduces signals initiated by growth factors and is involved in cell proliferation and differentia...

The intestinal epithelium constitutes a system of constant and rapid renewal triggered by proliferation of intestinal stem cells (ISCs), and is an ideal system for studying cell proliferation, migration, and differentiation. Primary cell cultures have proven to be promising for unraveling the mechanisms involved in epithelium homeostasis. In 2009, Sato et al. established a long-term primary cul...

Epithelium, a highly dynamic system, plays a key role in the homeostasis of the intestine. However, thus far a human intestinal epithelial cell line has not been established in many countries. Fetal tissue was selected to generate viable cell cultures for its sterile condition, effective generation, and differentiated character. The purpose of the present study was to culture human intestinal e...

Epithelial cells that line the human intestinal mucosa are the initial site of host invasion by bacterial pathogens. The studies herein define apoptosis as a new category of intestinal epithelial cell response to bacterial infection. Human colon epithelial cells are shown to undergo apoptosis following infection with invasive enteric pathogens, such as Salmonella or enteroinvasive Escherichia c...

Bacteria have developed mechanisms to sequester host iron via chelators such as deferoxamine (DFO). Interestingly, DFO has been shown to stimulate acute intestinal epithelial cell inflammatory cytokine production in the absence of bacteria; however, this mechanism has not been elucidated. Intestinal epithelial cell production of IL-6 and TNF-alpha is elevated in various gastrointestinal patholo...

The intestinal epithelium produces and responds to cytokines and lipid mediators that play a key role in the induction and regulation of mucosal inflammation. The lipid mediator platelet-activating factor (PAF) can be produced and degraded by the human intestinal epithelium and is known to mediate a range of proinflammatory and other biological effects in the intestinal mucosa. In the studies h...

Intestinal epithelial cells migrating across a mucosal defect are generally described as dedifferentiated, a term that suggests a loss of regulatory biology. Since cell biology may be more readily studied in established cell lines than in vivo, a model is developed using the human Caco-2 intestinal epithelial cell migrating across matrix proteins. This resembles in vivo models of mucosal healin...