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Review
. 2012 Feb;15(1):57-62.
doi: 10.1016/j.mib.2011.11.002. Epub 2011 Dec 14.

Role of mucus layers in gut infection and inflammation

Gunnar C Hansson  1
Affiliations
Review

Role of mucus layers in gut infection and inflammation

Gunnar C Hansson. Curr Opin Microbiol. 2012 Feb.

Abstract

The intestinal mucus is an efficient system for protecting the epithelium from bacteria by promoting their clearance and separating them from the epithelial cells, thereby inhibiting inflammation and infection. The function of the colon inner mucus layer is especially important as this explains how we can harbor the large number of bacteria in our gut. The major component of this mucus system is the MUC2 mucin which organizes the mucus by its enormously large net-like polymers. Pathogenic microorganisms, in turn, have developed mechanisms for circumventing this well-organized mucus protective system.

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Figures

Fig.1
Fig.1
Schematic outline of the MUC2 mucin and its formation of mucus in the small and large intestine. A. Assembly of the MUC2 mucin (protein core red) into dimeric forms in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), O-glycosylation (green) in the Golgi apparatus, formation of trimeric forms in the trans Golgi network (TGN) and a schematic picture of the secreted MUC2 polymer. B. The MUC2 mucin is secreted from the goblet cells (black arrows) to form the mucus. Colon have a two layered mucus where the inner layer is converted (red arrows) to the outer mucus layer. The stomach has a mucus essentially as that of colon (not shown). Red dots symbolizes bacteria.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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    1. Johansson MEV, Phillipson M, Petersson J, Holm L, Velcich A, Hansson GC. The inner of the two Muc2 mucin dependent mucus layers in colon is devoid of bacteria. Proc.Natl.Acad.Sci.USA. 2008;105:15064–15069. This show that the inner mucus layer is separating the colon bacteria from the epithelial cells. It also shows that lack of this mucus layer allow bacteria to contact the epithelia, enter the crypts and the the epithelial cells, something that triggers inflammation.

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