DFG CRC TRR 241 – Immune-Epithelial Communication in Inflammatory Bowel Diseases

Immune-Epithelial Communication in Inflammatory Bowel Diseases

The etiological background of Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IBD: Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis) is still poorly understood, in particular the local cellcell interactions. The driving hypothesis behind this new joint initiative is that a dysregulated signal exchange between the epithelium and immune cells and the consequences thereof contribute to the pathogenesis of IBD.
The DRFZ focuses on how the crosstalk of intestinal microbiota and immune cells can affect intestinal barrier functions and on how mechanisms of the innate immune system can initiate inflammation or, in contrast, lead to epithelial protection and barrier repair.