The Role and Function of Mucins and Its Relationship to Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Youra Kang; Hyeonjeong Park; Byung-Ho Choe; Ben Kang

doi:10.3389/fmed.2022.848344

The Role and Function of Mucins and Its Relationship to Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Front Med (Lausanne). 2022 May 6:9:848344. doi: 10.3389/fmed.2022.848344. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Youra Kang¹, Hyeonjeong Park¹, Byung-Ho Choe², Ben Kang²

Affiliations

¹ Cell and Matrix Research Institute, School of Medicine, Kyungpook National University, Daegu, South Korea.
² Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, Kyungpook National University, Daegu, South Korea.

Abstract

Mucus is present throughout the gastrointestinal tract and is essential for regulating gut microbiota homeostasis and preventing disease by protecting the gastrointestinal barrier from microorganisms, pathogens and toxins or other irritants. Mucin (MUC)-2 is a secreted protein produced by epithelial goblet cells as the main component of mucus. Defects in the gastrointestinal tract, such as inflammation and ulcers, cause damage to the mucus barrier, which can worsen mucus quality and reduce mucus production. Therefore, we would like to review the characteristics of MUC2 and its role in intestinal disorders and highlight the importance of further studies. We also investigated whether the role of MUC2 differs between children and adults, ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease (CD).

Keywords: Crohn's disease; inflammatory bowel diseases; mucins; mucus; ulcerative colitis.

Publication types

Review