Gut Immunity (VIDEO)
Caption
A new study from researchers at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute in Melbourne, Australia, has revealed how the gut's protective mechanisms ramp up significantly with food intake, and at times of the day when mealtimes are anticipated based on regular eating habits. Eating causes a hormone called VIP to be released by nerves in the intestine, kickstarting the activity of immune cells in response to potentially incoming pathogens or 'bad' bacteria. This video shows the nerve network (red) inside the small intestine secreting VIP (green) around a group of immune cells (blue).
Credit
Cyril Seillet/Walter and Eliza Hall Institute
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