With only a single layer of epithelial cells standing between what we’ve eaten and our inner tissues, the intestinal lining is constantly facing a unique conundrum: how does it absorb nutrients from food while maintaining a barrier against potentially infectious pathogens? What’s more, how does it maintain this balance in the face of constantly shifting environmental circumstances? A study using mice published in Science last month (March 19) may have unearthed a clue.
The researchers show that poorly understood immune cells called gamma-delta T cells are responsible for altering the relative abundance of various epithelial cell types, effectively specializing the gut to maximize nutrient absorption in the face of a changing diet.
To first author Zuri Sullivan, this finding was really surprising “because not only is it the first description of an immune cell being directly involved in nutrition,” she says, “but it’s a completely new function for these gamma-delta ...
