Fig. 1
From: Signaling pathways in intestinal homeostasis and colorectal cancer: KRAS at centre stage
Components of the large intestine/colon. The large intestine is composed of intestinal epithelial cells, which arise from the intestinal stem cells localised at the bottom of the crypts and differentiate into several cell types such as goblet cells, enteroendocrine cells, tuft cells or enterocytes. All of them are playing a role in the homeostasis state of the single layer of the intestinal epithelium to maintain the barrier function. This barrier separates the external (e.g. microbiota) from the internal environment (immune system) which together contribute to the preservation of the intestinal barrier