Dear Colleagues,

Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis are the two main types of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), characterized by destructive and progressive chronic inflammation of the digestive tract. To date, there is no cure available for IBD patients, and with the increasing incidence of IBD, there is an urgent clinical need for novel therapies. The lack of curative options stems from the fact that the early causative events in the etiology of IBD are poorly understood. What is known is that a complex interplay between genetic predisposition, gut microbiota, and environmental factors triggers a dysregulated intestinal immune response that initiates and perpetuates mucosal inflammation. Over the years, researchers in the field of IBD have highlighted two important components in the pathophysiology of IBD, which have mostly been studied in an independent fashion: the epithelial barrier that shields the bowel wall against the intestinal microbiota, and the complex nature of a dense immune cell network and its mediators within the lamina propria.

An increasing number of studies point to an important role for immune–epithelial crosstalk in IBD development. It is now evident that the intestinal epithelium should not be considered simply a physical barrier but rather a highly dynamic tissue, which responds to a plethora of environmental stimuli, including the intestinal microbiota, as well as to local or systemic signals derived from the immune system or other cells. The epithelial response to these extrinsic signals in turn regulates barrier function, microbiota composition, as well as mucosal immune homeostasis and inflammatory responses within the lamina propria.

We find it important to integrate these aspects into a new pathophysiological concept that considers dysregulated immune–epithelial crosstalk in the pathogenesis of IBD. This Special Issue therefore focuses on the latest research on immune–epithelial communication in inflammatory bowel disease.

Prof. Dr. Christoph Becker
Prof. Dr. Britta Siegmund
Dr. Eva Liebing
Guest Editors

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• inflammatory bowel disease
• immune–epithelial communication
• epithelial barrier
• microbiome
• mucosal immune system