Locksley RM

BACKGROUND: The chemosensory epithelial tuft cell possesses key roles in the host's response to intestinal infections, including the detection of and response to certain enteric parasites, and aids in parasite clearance (1,2). Limited data indicate that upon activation of tuft cells, downstream tuft and goblet cell hyperplasia may occur concurrently and during the peak of infection (2). The intestinal protozoan Giardia, which is known to cause epithelial barrier dysfunction and is a common cause of diarrheal disease worldwide (3), and the role of tuft cells during this infection has not been investigated...

While the cytokine IL-17 has been cloned and described more than 10 years ago [Yao Z, Fanslow WC, Seldin MF, Rousseau AM, Painter SL, Comeau MR, et al. Herpesvirus Saimiri encodes a new cytokine, IL-17, which binds to a novel cytokine receptor. Immunity 1995;3(6):811-21; Kennedy J, Rossi DL, Zurawski SM, Vega Jr F, Kastelein RA, Wagner JL, et al. Mouse IL-17: a cytokine preferentially expressed by alpha beta TCR+CD4-CD8-T cells. J Interferon Cytokine Res 1996;16(8):611-7], it was only 2 years ago that IL-17 producing T cells have been classified as a new distinct CD4 T cell subset [Harrington LE, Hatton RD, Mangan PR, Turner H, Murphy TL, Murphy KM, et al...