Immunology
Four outstanding reviews are obtained that underscore the importance of colonization, immune function and gastrointestinal disease, and provide an excellent background for gastroenterologists to understand the pathophysiology of intestinal clinical disease states.
Abstract
Introduction This year has been particularly active in the publication of seminal reviews that link colonization of the gut with the normal function of intestinal immunologic host defense and have begun to suggest that specific gastrointestinal disease states, for example, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), intestinal allergy, obesity and cancer, are limited to a specific composition of microbiota. We have obtained four outstanding reviews on these and other topics that underscore the importance of colonization, immune function and gastrointestinal disease. These reviews provide an excellent background for gastroenterologists to understand the pathophysiology of intestinal clinical disease states.