Project description:A mucus layer covers and protects the intestinal epithelial cells from direct contact with microbes. This mucus layer not only prevents inflammation but also plays an essential role in microbiota colonization, indicating the complex interplay between mucus composition-microbiota and intestinal health. However, it is unknown whether the mucus layer is influenced by age or sex and whether this contributes to reported differences in intestinal diseases in males and females or with ageing. Therefore, in this study we investigated the effect of age on mucus thickness, intestinal microbiota composition and immune composition in relation to sex. The ageing induced shrinkage of the colonic mucus layer was associated with bacterial penetration and direct contact of bacteria with the epithelium in both sexes. Additionally, several genes involved in the biosynthesis of mucus were downregulated in old mice, especially in males, and this was accompanied by a decrease in abundances of various Lactobacillus species and unclassified Clostridiales type IV and XIV and increase in abundance of the potential pathobiont Bacteroides vulgatus. The changes in mucus and microbiota in old mice were associated with enhanced activation of the immune system as illustrated by a higher percentage of effector T cells in old mice. Our data contribute to a better understanding of the interplay between mucus-microbiota-and immune responses and ultimately may lead to more tailored design of strategies to modulate mucus production in targeted groups.
Project description:Antibiotic use is a risk factor for development of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs). IBDs are characterized by a damaged mucus layer, which does not properly separate the host intestinal epithelium from the microbiota. Here, we hypothesized that antibiotics might affect the integrity of the mucus barrier. By systematically determining the effects of different antibiotics on mucus layer penetrability we found that oral antibiotic treatment led to breakdown of the mucus barrier and penetration of bacteria into the mucus layer. Using fecal microbiota transplant, RNA sequencing followed by machine learning and ex vivo mucus secretion measurements, we determined that antibiotic treatment induces ER stress and inhibits colonic mucus secretion in a microbiota-independent manner. This mucus secretion flaw led to penetration of bacteria into the colonic mucus layer, translocation of microbial antigens into circulation and exacerbation of ulcerations in a mouse model of IBD. Thus, antibiotic use might predispose to development of intestinal inflammation by impeding mucus production.
Project description:Antibiotic use is a risk factor for development of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs). IBDs are characterized by a damaged mucus layer, which does not properly separate the host intestinal epithelium from the microbiota. Here, we hypothesized that antibiotics might affect the integrity of the mucus barrier. By systematically determining the effects of different antibiotics on mucus layer penetrability we found that oral antibiotic treatment led to breakdown of the mucus barrier and penetration of bacteria into the mucus layer. Using fecal microbiota transplant, RNA sequencing followed by machine learning and ex vivo mucus secretion measurements, we determined that antibiotic treatment induces ER stress and inhibits colonic mucus secretion in a microbiota-independent manner. This mucus secretion flaw led to penetration of bacteria into the colonic mucus layer, translocation of microbial antigens into circulation and exacerbation of ulcerations in a mouse model of IBD. Thus, antibiotic use might predispose to development of intestinal inflammation by impeding mucus production.
Project description:Mucus produced by goblet cells in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract forms a biological barrier that protects the intestine from invasion by commensals and pathogens. However, the host-derived regulatory network that controls mucus secretion and thereby changing gut microbiota has not been well studied. We found Forkhead box protein O1 (Foxo1) regulates mucus secretion by goblet cells and determines intestinal homeostasis. Loss of Foxo1 in intestinal epithelial cells (IECs) results in a defect in goblet cell autophagy and mucus secretion, leading to impaired gut microenvironment and dysbiosis.
Project description:Vibrio parahaemolyticus is the leading bacterial cause for seafood-related gastroenteritis worldwide. As an intestinal pathogen, V. parahaemolyticus competes with other commensal bacteria for the same pool of nutrients. The major source of nutrition for intestinal bacteria is intestinal mucus. We wanted to determine the expression profile of wild-type V. parahaemolyticus in mouse intestinal mucus and then perform a differential expression analysis in a ∆rpoN deletion mutant.
Project description:Background; MUC2 mucin produced by intestinal goblet cells is the major component of the intestinal mucus barrier. MUC2 homo-oligomerizes intracellularly into large secreted polymers which give mucus its viscous properties. The inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) ulcerative colitis is characterized by depleted goblet cells and a reduced mucus layer, whereas goblet cells and the mucus layer are increased in the other major inflammatory bowel disease, Crohnâs disease. Methods and Findings; By murine N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea-mutagenesis we identified two distinct non-complementing missense mutations in Muc2 exons encoding N- and C-terminal homo-oligomerization domains causing an ulcerative colitis-like phenotype. Both strains developed mild spontaneous distal intestinal inflammation, chronic diarrhea, rectal bleeding and prolapse, increased susceptibility to acute and chronic colitis induced by a luminal toxin, aberrant Muc2 biosynthesis, smaller goblet cell thecae (less stored mucin) and a diminished mucus barrier. Enhanced local production of IL-1beta, TNF-alpha and IFN-gamma was seen in the distal colon. The number of leukocytes within mesenteric lymph nodes was increased five-fold and leukocytes cultured in vitro produced both Th1 and Th2 cytokines (IFN-gamma, TNF-alpha and IL-13). Intestinal permeability was increased and the luminal bacterial flora were more heavily coated with immunoglobulin as occurs in IBD. This pathology was accompanied by accumulation of the Muc2 precursor and ultrastructural and biochemical evidence of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress in goblet cells, activation of the unfolded protein response, and altered intestinal expression of genes involved in ER stress, inflammation, apoptosis and wound repair. Expression of mutated Muc2 oligomerization domains in vitro demonstrated that aberrant Muc2 oligomerization underlies the ER stress. These models show that mutations in Muc2 oligomerization domains can lead to aberrant assembly of the Muc2 complex leading to ER stress, a depleted mucus barrier and intestinal inflammation. In ulcerative colitis we demonstrate similar accumulation of non-glycosylated MUC2 precursor in goblet cells together with ultrastructural and biochemical evidence of ER stress even in non-inflamed intestinal tissue. Conclusions; The observations that mucin misfolding and ER stress lead directly to intestinal inflammation and that ER stress and goblet cell pathology occur in ulcerative colitis suggest that ER stress-related mucin depletion could be a fundamental component of the pathogenesis of colitis. Experiment Overall Design: 3 individual mice from the Eeyore, Winnie or Wild-type strains were compared as groups. An Affymetrix ID was compared between groups if the ID was Present within two of the three mice within each grouping. IDs were compared by calculating the log2 of Group One average signal divided by Group 2 average signal.
Project description:Vibrio parahaemolyticus is the leading bacterial cause for seafood-related gastroenteritis worldwide. As an intestinal pathogen, V. parahaemolyticus competes with other commensal bacteria for the same pool of nutrients. The major source of nutrition for intestinal bacteria is intestinal mucus. We wanted to determine the expression profile of wild-type V. parahaemolyticus in mouse intestinal mucus and then perform a differential expression analysis in a ∆luxO deletion mutant, in which the high cell density quorum sensing regulator OpaR is constitutively expressed and low cell density regulator AphA is repressed.
Project description:The intestinal mucosal barrier is a dynamic system that allows nutrient uptake, stimulates healthy microbe-host interactions, and prevents invasion by pathogens. The mucosa consists of epithelial cells connected by cellular junctions that regulate the passage of nutrients covered by a mucus layer that plays an important role in host-microbiome interactions. Mimicking the intestinal mucosa for in vitro assays, in particular the generation of a viscous mucus layer, has proven to be challenging. Here, we present a novel in vitro intestinal culture model that produces a robust mucus layer and is based on the widely used intestinal Caco-2 cell line. We investigated the effects of air-liquid interface (ALI) culturing compared to liquid-liquid interface (LLI) on Caco-2 cells grown under low-glucose conditions in Transwell plates. In addition, we determined the impact of vasointestinal peptide (VIP) on mucus secretion, epithelial barrier properties and microbe-mucus interactions. A combination of ALI culturing with VIP addition led to formation of a robust mucus layer on the apical surface of the Caco-2 confluent layer in which the intestinal secreted mucin MUC2 was a major component. RNAseq analysis demonstrated upregulation of unique gene clusters in response to ALI and VIP conditions, but the ALI-VIP combination treatment resulted in a significant upregulation of multiple mucin genes and proteins including MUC2, MUC13 and MUC17. Expression of tight junction proteins was significantly altered in the ALI-VIP condition leading to increased permeability to small molecules, more closely reflecting an intestinal epithelium permissive for nutrient uptake. In infection experiments with commensal Lactobacillus plantarum, pathogenic Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis, or enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC), the ALI-VIP mucus layer separated the bacteria from the underlying epithelium. In conclusion, ALI-VIP culture of Caco-2 cells provides an attractive in vitro model to study the function of the intestinal mucosal barrier and pathogenic and commensal microbe-host interactions.
Project description:In a healthy colon, the stratified mucus layer serves as a crucial innate immune barrier to protect the epithelium from microbes. Mucins are complex glycoproteins that serve as a nutrient source for resident microflora but can be exploited by pathogens. We aimed to understand how the intestinal pathogen, Clostridioides diffiicile, independently uses or manipulates mucus to its benefit. Using a 2-D primary human intestinal epithelial cell model to generate physiologic mucus, we assessed C. difficile-mucus interactions through growth assays, RNA-Seq, biophysical characterization of mucus, and contextualization of an established genome-scale metabolic network reconstruction (GENRE). We found that host-derived mucus promotes C. difficile growth both in vitro and in an infection model. RNA-Seq revealed significant upregulation of genes related to metabolism in response to mucus, including genes involved in sugar uptake, the Wood-Ljungdahl pathway, and the glycine cleavage system. In addition, we identified differential expression of genes related to sensing and transcriptional control. Analysis of mutants with deletions in highly upregulated genes reflected the complexity of C. difficile-mucus interactions, with potential interplay between sensing and growth. Mucus also stimulated biofilm formation in vitro, which may in turn alter viscoelastic properties of mucus. Context-specific metabolic modeling confirmed differential metabolism and predicted importance of enzymes related to serine and glycine catabolism with mucus. Subsequent growth experiments supported these findings, indicating mucus is an important source of serine. Our results better define responses of C. difficile to human gastrointestinal mucus and highlight a flexibility in metabolism that may influence pathogenesis.