人的肠道是一个非常复杂的环境,在这里存在有数量庞大的多种多样的微生物群落,它们的合集又通称为肠道菌群(gut microbiota)。通常情况下,人体与肠道菌群和平共处,互利互惠。肠道内环境与微生物的稳态主要依赖于肠黏膜的存在,它包括了上皮细胞层、固有层和黏膜肌层。肠黏膜协同其分泌的黏液层、黏膜免疫系统、以及其上依附的肠道菌群等一同组成了肠黏膜屏障,以抵御各种外界不利因素,尤其是病原细菌的侵袭。本文旨在概述肠道黏膜屏障与部分相关常见病原细菌感染机制的研究进展,并为科学研究和临床诊疗提供新思路。

The human intestine is a very complicated environment, with many residing microbial communities which form the gut microbiota. Normally, gut microbes and their hosts live peacefully with mutual benefits. The balance between the host and the gut microbiota largely relies on the homeostasis of the intestinal mucosa, which consists of a mechanical barrier made of epithelial cells, lamina propria, and a thin layer of smooth muscle called the muscularis mucosa. The intestinal mucosa, together with its self-secreted mucus layer, the mucosal immune system, and the commensal gut microbiota, form the intestinal mucosal barrier that can defend against external adversities such as pathogenic bacterial infections. Here, we retrospect the recent advances in the intestinal mucosal barrier along with the related bacterial infections, which may provide new ideas for scientific research, and clinical diagnosis and therapeutics.