| [ Summary ] |
Mucosal surfaces represent the most frequent portals of entry for infectious agents, allergens and various chemical substances which are biologicaly active. They are protected by chemical and physical mechanisms, such as mucin and gut movement, which cooperate closely with a local adaptive immune system, the mucosal immune system. The mucosal immune system operates in tissues involved in everyday infectious defense as well as in tolerance against innocuous enveronmental and dietary antigens. Such mucosal immune responses are elicited mainly in a specialized lymphoid organ in the gut mucosa, gut-associated lymphoid tissue. |