Paneth cells were first described in the late 19th century by Gustav Schwalbe and Josef Paneth as columnar epithelial cells possessing prominent eosinophilic granules in their cytoplasm. Decades later there is continued interest in Paneth cells as they play an integral role in maintaining intestinal homeostasis and modulating the physiology of the small intestine and its associated microbial flora. Paneth cells are highly specialized secretory epithelial cells located in the small intestinal crypts of Lieberkühn. The dense granules produced by Paneth cells contain an abundance of antimicrobial peptides and immunomodulating proteins that function to regulate the composition of the intestinal flora. This in turn plays a significant role in secondary regulation of the host microvasculature, the normal injury and repair mechanisms of the intestinal epithelial layer, and the levels of intestinal inflammation. These critical functions may have even more importance in the immature intestine of premature infants. While Paneth cells begin to develop in the middle of human gestation, they do not become immune competent or reach their adult density until closer to term gestation. This leaves preterm infants deficient in normal Paneth cell biology during the greatest window of susceptibility to develop intestinal pathology such as necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC). As 10% of infants worldwide are currently born prematurely, there is a significant population of infants contending with an inadequate cohort of Paneth cells. Infants who have developed NEC have decreased Paneth cell numbers compared to age-matched controls, and ablation of murine Paneth cells results in a NEC-like phenotype suggesting again that Paneth cell function is critical to homeostasis to the immature intestine. This review will provide an up to date and comprehensive look at Paneth cell ontogeny, the impact Paneth cells have on the host-microbial axis in the immature intestine, and the repercussions of Paneth cell dysfunction or loss on injury and repair mechanisms in the immature gut.

中文翻译：

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Paneth细胞：未成熟小肠的策展人和捍卫者。

Paneth细胞最早是在19世纪末由Gustav Schwalbe和Josef Paneth描述为柱状上皮细胞，在其细胞质中具有突出的嗜酸性颗粒。数十年后，人们对Paneth细胞产生了持续的兴趣，因为Paneth细胞在维持肠道稳态，调节小肠及其相关微生物菌群的生理功能中起着不可或缺的作用。Paneth细胞是高度专业的分泌性上皮细胞，位于Lieberkühn的小肠隐窝中。Paneth细胞产生的致密颗粒含有丰富的抗菌肽和免疫调节蛋白，可调节肠道菌群的组成。反过来，这在宿主微血管的二级调控中起着重要作用，肠上皮层的正常损伤和修复机制以及肠道炎症水平。这些关键功能在早产儿的未成熟肠中可能更为重要。虽然Paneth细胞在人类妊娠中期开始发育，但直到接近足月妊娠时，它们才具有免疫能力或达到其成年密度。这使早产儿在正常肠道疾病（如坏死性小肠结肠炎（NEC））发展的最大敏感性期中，缺乏正常的Paneth细胞生物学。由于目前全世界10％的婴儿早产，因此有大量婴儿在争夺Paneth细胞群。与年龄相称的对照组相比，患有NEC的婴儿的Paneth细胞数量减少了，鼠Paneth细胞的消融会产生类似NEC的表型，这再次表明Paneth细胞的功能对于未成熟肠的动态平衡至关重要。这篇综述将提供有关Paneth细胞个体发育，Paneth细胞对未成熟肠中宿主微生物轴的影响以及Paneth细胞功能障碍或损失对未成熟肠的损伤和修复机制的影响的最新全面综述。 。