Selective Association and Transport of 'Campylobacter jejuni' through M Cells of Rabbit Peyer's Patches

摘要

M cells are important antigen-sampling structures found in the epithelial layer over lymphoid follicles of the gastrointestinal mucosa (Sneller and Strober 1986). They were originally termed M cells or Microfold cells due to their surface structure. Since the surfaces of these cells have subsequently been found to be variable, the term Microfold has been dropped, but the designation M retained. M cells in the Peyer's patches may facilitate transport of pathogens Campylobacter jejuni from the intestine. The researchers evaluated this hypothesis by using electron microscopy to examine Peyer's patches in ligated adult rabbit ileal loops inoculated with 5-mL suspensions of 10 to the 9th power cfu/mL of Campylobacter jejuni. Peyer's patches taken at intervals from 15 to 2 h after inoculation of loops in anaesthetized rabbits provided evidence that Campylobacter jejuni selectively adhered to M cells as opposed to absorptive epithelial cells and was transported, apparently intact, into the M cell follicle. the proximity of the lymphatic and blood circulatory systems to the M cell follicle makes this a probable route for systemic spread of Campylobacter jejuni. Keywords: Pathogenesis, Bacterial diseases, Gram negative bacteria, Reprints. (aw)