ASIP Cotran Early Career Investigator Award Lecture
Intestinal Antigen-Presenting Cells: Key Regulators of Immune Homeostasis and Inflammation

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The microbiota that populate the mammalian intestine are critical for proper host physiology, yet simultaneously pose a potential danger. Intestinal antigen-presenting cells, namely macrophages and dendritic cells (DCs), are integral components of the mucosal innate immune system that maintain co-existence with the microbiota in face of this constant threat. Intestinal macrophages and DCs integrate signals from the microenvironment to orchestrate innate and adaptive immune responses that ultimately lead to durable tolerance of the microbiota. Tolerance is not a default response, however, because macrophages and DCs remain poised to vigorously respond to pathogens that breach the epithelial barrier. In this review, we summarize the salient features of macrophages and DCs in the healthy and inflamed intestine and discuss how signals from the microbiota can influence their function.

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Supported by NIH grants 1R01DK097256 (T.L.D.) and 1F30DK097904-01 (D.G.).

Disclosures: None declared.

The American Society for Investigative Pathology (ASIP) Cotran Early Career Investigator Award recognizes early career investigators with demonstrated excellence as an investigator with recently established or emerging independence and with a research focus leading to an improved understanding of the conceptual basis of disease. Timothy L. Denning, recipient of the ASIP 2014 Cotran Early Career Investigator Award, delivered a lecture entitled “Intestinal Antigen Presenting Cells During Homeostasis and Inflammation” on April 29, 2014, at the annual meeting of the ASIP in San Diego, CA.