Gut-associated lymphoid tissue

Gut-associated lymphoid tissue
Details
SystemLymphatic system
Identifiers
Acronym(s)GALT
FMA62820
Anatomical terminology

Gut-associated lymphoid tissue (GALT)[1] is a component of the mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) which works in the immune system to protect the body from invasion in the gut.

Owing to its physiological function in food absorption, the mucosal surface is thin and acts as a permeable barrier to the interior of the body. Equally, its fragility and permeability creates vulnerability to infection and, in fact, the vast majority of the infectious agents invading the human body use this route.[2] The functional importance of GALT in body's defense relies on its large population of plasma cells, which are antibody producers, whose number exceeds the number of plasma cells in spleen, lymph nodes and bone marrow combined.[3] GALT makes up about 70% of the immune system by weight; compromised GALT may significantly affect the strength of the immune system as a whole.[4]

  1. ^ Janeway Jr CA, Travers P, Walport M, Shlomchik MJ (2001). "The mucosal immune system". Immunobiology: The Immune System in Health and Disease (5th ed.). New York: Garland Science. ISBN 978-0-8153-3642-6.
  2. ^ Murphy K, Janeway Jr CA (2011). Janeway's immunobiology (Immunobiology: The Immune System (Janeway)). Garland Science. ISBN 978-0-8153-4243-4. OCLC 733935898.
  3. ^ Goldsby RA, Osborne BA, Kindt TJ, Kuby J (2007). Kuby immunology. W.H. Freeman. ISBN 978-0-7167-6764-0. OCLC 68207318.
  4. ^ Vighi G, Marcucci F, Sensi L, Di Cara G, Frati F (September 2008). "Allergy and the gastrointestinal system". Clinical and Experimental Immunology. 153 (Suppl 1): 3–6. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2249.2008.03713.x. PMC 2515351. PMID 18721321.