PANETH CELLS: THEIR ROLE IN INNATE IMMUNITY AND INFLAMMATIORY DISEASE.

In this article, we discuss the current understanding of how the intestinal mucosa may exert control over luminal bacteria, and how intestinal inflammation could ensue when this control is lost. We shall review research showing how Paneth cells, and evolutionarily conserved innate immune mechanisms, are emerging as key mediators of intestinal mucosal defence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]