Instituto de Medicina Molecular, Faculdade de Medicina de Lisboa, Edifício Egas Moniz, Lisboa, Portugal.
Champalimaud Research, Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown, Lisboa, Portugal.
Nat Immunol. 2017 Feb;18(2):116-122. doi: 10.1038/ni.3634. Epub 2017 Jan 16.
Interactions between the nervous system and immune system are required for organ function and homeostasis. Evidence suggests that enteric neurons and intestinal immune cells share common regulatory mechanisms and can coordinate their responses to developmental challenges and environmental aggressions. These discoveries shed light on the physiology of system interactions and open novel perspectives for therapy designs that target underappreciated neurological-immunological commonalities. Here we highlight findings that address the importance of neuroimmune cell units (NICUs) in intestinal development, homeostasis and disease.
神经系统和免疫系统之间的相互作用是器官功能和体内平衡所必需的。有证据表明，肠神经元和肠道免疫细胞具有共同的调节机制，可以协调它们对发育挑战和环境侵袭的反应。这些发现揭示了系统相互作用的生理学，并为针对被低估的神经免疫共性的治疗设计开辟了新的视角。在这里，我们强调了一些研究结果，这些结果说明了神经免疫细胞单元（NICUs）在肠道发育、稳态和疾病中的重要性。
