Humans harbor nearly 100 trillion intestinal bacteria, which in terms of numbers, represents
around ten times more microbial cells than eukaryotic cells. The gastrointestinal (GI) tract,
the largest surface area of the body with an epithelial surface of approximately 400 m 2, is in
constant exposure to these live microorganisms. Their peaceful coexistence demonstrated
by the lack of pro-inflammatory responses against commensal bacteria implicates the
presence of clearly defined lines of communication. In fact, bacterial translocation (BT) …