Fine-tuning for intestinal immune cells

An international team of researchers has unraveled a new regulatory mechanism how food components and environmental factors influence the immune system. Various substances present in the intestines can bind to an important controller, the Ah receptor. This system is in turn regulated by the Ah receptor repressor and as a result, it influences the degree of the immune response. If the controller is not properly adjusted during bacterial infections, there can be life-threatening septic shock, for example.