Let's go mucosal: communication on slippery ground

• DOI: 10.1016/j.it.2004.11.009
• Publication Date: 2004-12-03T21:19:59Z
• Authors: Per Brandtzaeg; Reinhard Pabst
• Keywords: 0301 basic medicine; B-Lymphocytes; Mucous Membrane; Lymphoid Tissue; Communication; Immunoglobulin Class Switching; Immunoglobulin A; 3. Good health; 03 medical and health sciences; 0302 clinical medicine; Allergy and Immunology; Terminology as Topic; Animals; Humans; Antigens; Immunity, Mucosal

Mucosal immunology is increasingly gaining attention as an area of great potential for the development of vaccines and immunotherapy. However, some immunologists confuse this field by neglecting recommended and well-defined terminology. Although nomenclature might seem unimportant to progressive scientists, it is a crucial means of communication and is essential for those being introduced to a new research topic. The mucosal immune system is even more complex than its systemic counterpart, both in terms of effectors and anatomy. It is instructive to divide the various tissue compartments involved in mucosal immunity into inductive sites and effector sites according to their main function. Inductive sites comprise lymphoid tissue, in which the triggering of naive immune cells and the generation of memory–effector cells take place.