Poliovirus transcytosis through M-like cells

During the digestive-tract phase of infection, poliovirus (PV) is found in the oropharynx and the intestine. It has been proposed that PV enters the organism by crossing M cells, which are scattered in the epithelial sheet covering lymphoid follicles of Peyer's patches. However, PV translocation through M cells has never been demonstrated. A model of M-like cells has been previously developed using monolayers of polarized Caco-2 enterocytes cocultured with lymphocytes isolated from Peyer's patches. In this model, lymphoepithelial interactions trigger the appearance of epithelial cells having morphological and functional characteristics of M cells. We have demonstrated efficient, temperature-dependent PV transcytosis in Caco-2 cell monolayers containing M-like cells. This experimental evidence is consistent with M cells serving as gateways allowing PV access to the basal face of enterocytes, the underlying immune follicle cells, and PV transport toward mesenteric lymph nodes.