title: Studies of mucus in mouse stomach, small intestine, and colon. I. Gastrointestinal mucus layers have different properties depending on location as well as over the Peyer's patches.
abstract: Colon has been shown to have a two-layered mucus system where the inner layer is devoid of bacteria. However, a complete overview of the mouse gastrointestinal mucus system is lacking. We now characterize mucus release, thickness, growth over time, adhesive properties, and penetrability to fluorescent beads from stomach to distal colon. Colon displayed spontaneous mucus release and all regions released mucus in response to carbachol and PGE2, except the distal colon and domes of Peyer's patches. Stomach and colon had an inner mucus layer that was adherent to the epithelium. In contrast, the small intestine and Peyer's patches had a single mucus layer that was easily aspirated. The inner mucus layer of the distal colon was not penetrable to beads the size of bacteria and the inner layer of the proximal colon was only partly penetrable. In contrast, the inner mucus layer of stomach was fully penetrable, as was the small intestinal mucus. This suggests a functional organization of the intestinal mucus system, where the small intestine has loose and penetrable mucus that may allow easy penetration of nutrients, in contrast to the stomach, where the mucus provides physical protection, and the colon, where the mucus separates bacteria from the epithelium. This knowledge of the mucus system and its organization improves our understanding of the gastrointestinal tract physiology.
authors.affiliation: Dept. Medical Biochemistry, Univ. of Gothenburg, Box 440, 40530 Gothenburg, Sweden. gunnar.hansson@medkem.gu.se.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ermund
authors.forename: André
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Schütte
authors.forename: Malin E V
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Johansson
authors.forename: Jenny K
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Gustafsson
authors.forename: Gunnar C
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: Hansson
mesh_terms: D000268:Adhesiveness; D000818:Animals; D002217:Carbachol / Q000494:pharmacology; D003106:Colon / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000382:microbiology; D015232:Dinoprostone / Q000494:pharmacology; D005260:Female; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes / Q000378:metabolism; D005753:Gastric Mucosa / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000382:microbiology; D007408:Intestinal Absorption; D007413:Intestinal Mucosa / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000382:microbiology; D007421:Intestine, Small / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000382:microbiology; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D018613:Microscopy, Confocal; D018715:Microscopy, Video; D009093:Mucus / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000382:microbiology; D010539:Permeability; D010581:Peyer's Patches / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D002217:Carbachol; D015232:Dinoprostone
keywords: bacteria; goblet cells; mucin; mucus adhesiveness; mucus thickness