Ningning Yue,1,* Peng Hu,2,* Chengmei Tian,3 Chen Kong,1 Hailan Zhao,1 Yuan Zhang,4 Jun Yao,1 Yuqi Wei,5 Defeng Li,1 Lisheng Wang1 

1Department of Gastroenterology, Shenzhen People’s Hospital (The Second Clinical Medical College, Jinan University; The First Affiliated Hospital, Southern University of Science and Technology), Shenzhen, People’s Republic of China; 2School of Health Science and Engineering, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Emergency, Shenzhen People’s Hospital (The Second Clinical Medical College, Jinan University; The First Affiliated Hospital, Southern University of Science and Technology), Shenzhen, People’s Republic of China; 4Department of Medical Administration, Huizhou Institute of Occupational Diseases Control and Prevention, Huizhou, People’s Republic of China; 5Department of Rehabilitation, Shenzhen People’s Hospital (The Second Clinical Medical College, Jinan University; The First Affiliated Hospital, Southern University of Science and Technology), Shenzhen, People’s Republic of China

*These authors contributed equally to this work

Correspondence: Defeng Li; Lisheng Wang, Department of Gastroenterology, Shenzhen People’s Hospital (The Second Clinical Medical College, Jinan University; the First Affiliated Hospital, Southern University of Science and Technology), No.1017, Dongmen North Road, Luohu District, Shenzhen, 518020, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86 755 25533018, Email ldf830712@163.com; wanglsszrmyy@163.com

Abstract: The intestinal immune system is the largest immune organ in the human body. Excessive immune response to intestinal cavity induced by harmful stimuli including pathogens, foreign substances and food antigens is an important cause of inflammatory diseases such as celiac disease and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Although great progress has been made in the treatment of IBD by some immune-related biotherapeutic products, yet a considerable proportion of IBD patients remain unresponsive or immune tolerant to immunotherapeutic strategy. Therefore, it is necessary to further understand the mechanism of immune cell populations involved in enteritis, including dendritic cells, macrophages and natural lymphocytes, in the steady-state immune tolerance of IBD, in order to find effective IBD therapy. In this review, we discussed the important role of innate and adaptive immunity in the development of IBD. And the relationship between intestinal immune system disorders and microflora crosstalk were also presented. We also focus on the new findings in the field of T cell immunity, which might identify novel cytokines, chemokines or anti-cytokine antibodies as new approaches for the treatment of IBD.

Keywords: ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s disease, inflammatory bowel disease, immunology, therapy