M cell
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M cells (or microfold cells) are cells found in the follicle-associated epithelium of the Peyer's patch that have the unique ability to sample antigen from the lumen of the small intestine and deliver it via transcytosis to antigen presenting cells and lymphocytes located in a unique pocket-like structure on their basolateral side.
Structure
M cells differ from normal enterocytes in that they lack microvilli on their apical surface, but instead possess broader microfolds that give the cell its name.
The filamentous brush border glycocalyx, an extracellular polysaccharide layer found throughout the intestine attached to enterocytes, is much thinner or absent on M cells.
Pathology
M cells are exploited by several pathogens, including Shigella flexneri, Salmonella typhimurium, and Yersinia pseudotuberculosis, as a way to penetrate the intestinal epithelium.
Development
Factors promoting the differentiation of M cells have yet to be elucidated, but they are thought to develop in response to signals from immune cells found in the developing Peyer's patch.[1]
References
External links
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Some of the initial content on this page may be incorporated in part from copyleft sources in the public domain including wikis such as Wikipedia and AskDrWiki. Drug information for patients came from the The National Library of Medicine. Infectious disease information may have come from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Differential Diagnoses are drawn from clinicians as well as an amalgamation of 3 sources: 1.The Disease Database; 2. Kahan, Scott, Smith, Ellen G. In A Page: Signs and Symptoms. Malden, Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishing, 2004:3; 3. Sailer, Christian, Wasner, Susanne. Differential Diagnosis Pocket. Hermosa Beach, CA: Borm Bruckmeir Publishing LLC, 2002:7 .
