Battle in the gut: Immune cells help 'good bacteria' triumph over 'bad bacteria'
Tuesday, April 21, 2015 - 12:40
in Health & Medicine
The body's immune system may be the keeper of a healthy gut microbiota, report scientists. They found that a binding protein on white blood cells could affect whether or not mice produced a balanced gut microbiota. Without the protein, harmful bacteria were more easily able to infect. Why this happens is unclear, but it may be that the immune system has a way to sense the presence of invading intestinal bacteria.