Mucosal Immune Regulation in Early Infancy: Monitoring and Intervention

The mucosal immune system of infants is dependent on the maintenance of mucosal homeostasis. Homeostasis results from the interaction between the mucosa and exogenous factors such as dietar and microbial agents. Induction and maintenance of homeostasis is a highly regluated system that involves different cell types. If homeostasis is lost this may lead to disease, including allergy and chronic intestinal inflammation. In this thesis we observed whether loss of homeostasis leading to cow's milk allergy could be influenced by the supplementation of probiotic bacteria. Next to that the thesis focuses on a (buccal) epithelial cells and their role in mucosal homeostasis.