title: Therapeutic Potential to Modify the Mucus Barrier in Inflammatory Bowel Disease.
abstract: Recently, numerous studies have shown that disruption of the mucus barrier plays an important role in the exacerbation of inflammatory bowel disease, particularly in ulcerative colitis. Alterations in the mucus barrier are well supported by published data and are widely accepted. The use of fluorescence in situ hybridization and Carnoy's fixation has revealed the importance of the mucus barrier in maintaining a mutualistic relationship between host and bacteria. Studies have raised the possibility that modulation of the mucus barrier may provide therapies for the disease, using agents such as short-chain fatty acids, prebiotics and probiotics. This review describes changes in the mucus barrier of patients with inflammatory bowel disease and in animal models of the disease. We also review the involvement of the mucus barrier in the exacerbation of the disease and explore the therapeutic potential of modifying the mucus barrier with short-chain fatty acids, prebiotics, probiotics, fatty acid synthase, H₂S, neutrophil elastase inhibitor and phophatidyl choline.
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, Jinling Hospital, Medical School of Nanjing University, 305 East Zhongshan Road, Nanjing 210002, China. jingdianjing99@126.com.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, Jinling Hospital, Medical School of Nanjing University, 305 East Zhongshan Road, Nanjing 210002, China. dr_shenxiao@126.com.
authors.forename: Xiao
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, Jinling Hospital, Medical School of Nanjing University, 305 East Zhongshan Road, Nanjing 210002, China. dr_liyi@126.com.
authors.forename: Yi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, Jinling Hospital, Medical School of Nanjing University, 305 East Zhongshan Road, Nanjing 210002, China. dr_guozhen@126.com.
authors.forename: Zhen
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, Jinling Hospital, Medical School of Nanjing University, 305 East Zhongshan Road, Nanjing 210002, China. dr_juwiming@126.com.
authors.forename: Weiming
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, Jinling Hospital, Medical School of Nanjing University, 305 East Zhongshan Road, Nanjing 210002, China. dr_zuolugen@126.com.
authors.forename: Lugen
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zuo
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, Jinling Hospital, Medical School of Nanjing University, 305 East Zhongshan Road, Nanjing 210002, China. dr_zhaojie@126.com.
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, Jinling Hospital, Medical School of Nanjing University, 305 East Zhongshan Road, Nanjing 210002, China. dr_gulili@126.com.
authors.forename: Lili
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Gu
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, Jinling Hospital, Medical School of Nanjing University, 305 East Zhongshan Road, Nanjing 210002, China. dr_gongjf@126.com.
authors.forename: Jianfeng
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gong
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, Jinling Hospital, Medical School of Nanjing University, 305 East Zhongshan Road, Nanjing 210002, China. dr_lijieshou@126.com.
authors.forename: Jieshou
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003093:Colitis, Ulcerative / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology; D003424:Crohn Disease / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology; D018450:Disease Progression; D064429:Fatty Acid Synthases / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005232:Fatty Acids, Volatile / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D006862:Hydrogen Sulfide / Q000627:therapeutic use; D015212:Inflammatory Bowel Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology*; D007413:Intestinal Mucosa / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology*; D010713:Phosphatidylcholines / Q000627:therapeutic use; D056692:Prebiotics; D019936:Probiotics / Q000627:therapeutic use; D053491:Proteinase Inhibitory Proteins, Secretory / Q000627:therapeutic use
chemical_list: D005232:Fatty Acids, Volatile; D010713:Phosphatidylcholines; D056692:Prebiotics; D053491:Proteinase Inhibitory Proteins, Secretory; D064429:Fatty Acid Synthases; D006862:Hydrogen Sulfide
keywords: bacterial penetration; immune; inflammatory bowel disease; mucus barrier; nutrients