Editorial (Thematic Issue: Advance of Interactions Between Exogenous Natural Bioactive Peptides and Intestinal Barrier and Immune Responses)

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

Gastrointestine is a complex ecosystem which plays a critical role in nutrients digestion and absorption. Exogenous natural proteins in food and feed will be degraded into short-chain peptides and amino acids by various protease, and then be adsorbed by transporters in intestine, which is also well-known as “internalization”. During the process, the intestinal barrier, containing at least intestinal microbiota and tight junction proteins, is very important to prevent invasion of bacteria, viruses, fungi and heterologous proteins [1]. The diversity and the composition of the intestinal microbiota, exhibit an irreplaceable role in the maintenance of intestinal homeostasis. Tight junction proteins are key molecules for determination of the intestinal permeability [2].