Muc2-dependent microbial colonization of the jejunal mucus layer is diet sensitive and confers local resistance to enteric pathogen infection
Abstract
Intestinal mucus barriers normally prevent microbial infections but are sensitive to diet-dependent changes in the luminal environment. Here we demonstrate that mice fed a Western-style diet (WSD) suffer regiospecific failure of the mucus barrier in the small intestinal jejunum caused by diet-induced mucus aggregation. Mucus barrier disruption due to either WSD exposure or chromosomal Muc2 deletion results in collapse of the commensal jejunal microbiota, which in turn sensitizes mice to atypical jejunal colonization by the enteric pathogen Citrobacter rodentium. We illustrate the jejunal mucus layer as a microbial habitat, and link the regiospecific mucus dependency of the microbiota to distinctive properties of the jejunal niche. Together, our data demonstrate a symbiotic mucus-microbiota relationship that normally prevents jejunal pathogen colonization, but is highly sensitive to disruption by exposure to a WSD.
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BibTeX
@article{birchenough2026muc2dependent,
title = {{Muc2-dependent microbial colonization of the jejunal mucus layer is diet sensitive and confers local resistance to enteric pathogen infection}},
author = {George M.H. Birchenough and Bjoern Schroeder and Sinan Sharba and Liisa Arike and Christian Recktenwald and Fabiola Puértolas-Balint and Mahadevan Subramani and Karl Hansson and Bahtiyar Yilmaz and Sara Lindén and Fredrik Bäckhed and Gunnar Hansson},
journal = {Cell Reports},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.1016/j.celrep.2023.112084},
url = {https://hal.science/hal-05772130v1},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Muc2-dependent microbial colonization of the jejunal mucus layer is diet sensitive and confers local resistance to enteric pathogen infection
AU - George M.H. Birchenough
AU - Bjoern Schroeder
AU - Sinan Sharba
AU - Liisa Arike
AU - Christian Recktenwald
AU - Fabiola Puértolas-Balint
AU - Mahadevan Subramani
AU - Karl Hansson
AU - Bahtiyar Yilmaz
AU - Sara Lindén
AU - Fredrik Bäckhed
AU - Gunnar Hansson
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/30
JO - Cell Reports
DO - 10.1016/j.celrep.2023.112084
UR - https://hal.science/hal-05772130v1
AB - Intestinal mucus barriers normally prevent microbial infections but are sensitive to diet-dependent changes in the luminal environment. Here we demonstrate that mice fed a Western-style diet (WSD) suffer regiospecific failure of the mucus barrier in the small intestinal jejunum caused by diet-induced mucus aggregation. Mucus barrier disruption due to either WSD exposure or chromosomal Muc2 deletion results in collapse of the commensal jejunal microbiota, which in turn sensitizes mice to atypical jejunal colonization by the enteric pathogen Citrobacter rodentium. We illustrate the jejunal mucus layer as a microbial habitat, and link the regiospecific mucus dependency of the microbiota to distinctive properties of the jejunal niche. Together, our data demonstrate a symbiotic mucus-microbiota relationship that normally prevents jejunal pathogen colonization, but is highly sensitive to disruption by exposure to a WSD.
SN - 2211-1247
SN - 2211-1247
ER -