ITGAX and inflammatory bowel disease: The specific deletion of CD11c, an integrin expressed at high levels by DCs, and at lower levels by the other cells of the innate immune system, has been shown to result in the induction of spontaneous autoimmunity, characterized by the infiltration of CD4+ T-cells into peripheral tissues, autoantibody formation, and onset of inflammatory bowel disease suggesting a role for CD11c+ DCs in the maintenance of immune tolerance6.