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Abstract
It is current knowledge that the intestinal microbiota plays a major role in the development
and maintenance of intestinal health. Intestinal epithelial cells (IEC) constitute
the interface between the gut lumen and the innate and adaptive immune system. To
maintain intestinal homeostasis, the organized and diffuse compartments of the gut-associated
lymphoid tissue have to process the continuously varying information at the interface
between the luminal side and the host. Dysregulated intestinal immune responses towards
commensal bacteria are an important factor in the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel
diseases (IBD). In contrast to the colitogenic effects of enteric bacteria, clinical
and experimental studies showed that specific probiotic strains are protective in
the context of chronic intestinal inflammation. Although the molecular understanding
of bacteria-host interaction is improving, the anti-inflammatory mechanisms induced
by these probiotic bacteria are just starting to be unraveled. The present review
is meant to summarize and discuss the clinical relevance of probiotics, but it also
seeks to give an overview about currently known probiotic mechanisms in the context
of chronic intestinal inflammation with a focus on IEC.
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