The emerging concept of tissue specific immunity has opened the gates to new inquiries into what factors drive immune cell niche adaptation and the implications on immune homeostasis, organ specific immune diseases, and therapeutic efficacy. These issues are particularly complicated at barrier sites, which are directly exposed to an ever-changing environment. In particular, the gastrointestinal (GI) tract faces even further challenges given the profound functional and structural differences along its length, raising the possibility that it may even have to be treated as multiple organs when seeking to answer these questions. In this review, we evaluate what is known about the tissue intrinsic and extrinsic factors shaping immune compartments in the intestine. We then discuss the physiological and pathological consequences of a regionally distinct immune system in a single organ, but also discuss where our insight into the role of the compartment for disease development is still very limited. Finally, we discuss the technological and therapeutic implications this compartmentalization has. While the gut is perhaps one of the most intensely studied systems, many of these aspects apply to understanding tissue specific immunity of other organs, most notably other barrier sites such as skin, lung, and the urogenital tract.

组织特异性免疫的新兴概念为新的调查打开了大门，即哪些因素驱动免疫细胞生态位适应以及对免疫稳态、器官特异性免疫疾病和治疗效果的影响。这些问题在直接暴露于不断变化的环境中的屏障站点尤为复杂。特别是，考虑到胃肠道 (GI) 沿其长度在功能和结构上的深刻差异，它面临着更进一步的挑战，这增加了在寻求回答这些问题时甚至可能不得不将其视为多个器官的可能性。在这篇综述中，我们评估了关于塑造肠道免疫区室的组织内在和外在因素的已知信息。然后，我们讨论了单个器官中区域性不同的免疫系统的生理和病理后果，但也讨论了我们对隔室在疾病发展中的作用的了解仍然非常有限。最后，我们讨论了这种划分的技术和治疗意义。虽然肠道可能是研究最深入的系统之一，但其中许多方面都适用于了解其他器官的组织特异性免疫，最显着的是其他屏障部位，如皮肤、肺和泌尿生殖道。