Discovery of an Innate Immunological Memory in the Intestine

The innate immune system plays a crucial role in regulating host-microbe interactions, and especially in providing protection against pathogens that invade the mucosa. Using an intestinal infection model, scientists from the Institut Pasteur and Inserm discovered that innate effector cells--group 3 innate lymphoid cells--act not only during the early stages of infection but can also be trained to develop an innate form of immunological memory that can protect the host during reinfection. The study was published in the journal Science on February 24, 2022. The article is titled “Trained ILC3 responses promote intestinal defense.”