Hostname: page-component-745bb68f8f-cphqk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-01-18T20:44:53.207Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Colonic mucin: methods of measuring mucus thickness

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 March 2007

Vicki Strugala ,
Adrian Allen ,
Peter W. Dettmar  and
Jeffrey P. Pearson
Vicki Strugala*
Affiliation:
Department of Physiological Sciences, Medical School, Framlington Place, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE2 4HH, UK
Adrian Allen
Affiliation:
Department of Physiological Sciences, Medical School, Framlington Place, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE2 4HH, UK
Peter W. Dettmar
Affiliation:
Reckitt Benckiser Healthcare (UK) Ltd, Dansom Lane, Kingston upon Hull, HU8 7DS, UK
Jeffrey P. Pearson
Affiliation:
Department of Physiological Sciences, Medical School, Framlington Place, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE2 4HH, UK
*
*Corresponding author: Dr Vicki Strugala, Present address: Reckitt Benckiser Healthcare (UK) Ltd, Dansom Lane, Kingston upon Hull HU8 7DS, UK, fax +44 1482 582358, [email protected]
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

Mucus is a water-insoluble gel secreted by the gastrointestinal tract. It exists as a protective gel layer adherent to the epithelial surface of the stomach, small intestine and colon. The mucus gel is composed of 1–10% (w/v) mucin glycoprotein in a plasma-like fluid. Since the mucus gel is predominantly water, standard histological techniques dehydrate the mucus, making visualisation of the functional barrier difficult. Specialist techniques have been developed to enable visualisation of the intact mucus layer. A simple histological method using snap-frozen tissue, sectioned with a cryostat and stained with modified periodic acid-Schiff s/Alcian blue in mucus-preserving conditions will be described. A second powerful in vivo animal model is described which enables measurement of mucus secretion over time. The use of these two methods has allowed the characterisation of the normal mucus layer in the colon and the determination of how it is affected by disease and dietary intervention, in particular the effect of dietary fibre, and evidence that fibre deficiency results in colonic mucosal fragility is presented.

Keywords

Mucus thicknessRat colonDietary fibre
Type
Session: Physiological aspects of fibre
Information
Proceedings of the Nutrition Society , Volume 62 , Issue 1 , February 2003 , pp. 237 - 243
Copyright
Copyright © The Nutrition Society 2003

References

Allen, A (1981) Structure and function of gastrointestinal mucus.In Physiology of the Gastrointestinal Tract 617–639[Leonard, LR, editor]. New York: Raven Press.Google Scholar
Allen, A (1989) Gastrointestinal mucus.In Handbook of Physiology – The Gastrointestinal System 359–382 [Forte, JG, editor]. Bethesda, ML: American Physiological Society vol. 3.Google Scholar
Bentley, R, Meganathan, R (1982) Biosynthesis of vitamin K (menaquinone) in bacteria. Microbiological Reviews 46, 241–280.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bowman, WC, Rand, MJ (1980) Textbook of Pharmacology Oxford: Blackwell Scientific Publications.Google Scholar
Brownlee, IA, Havler, ME, Dettmar, PW, Allen, A, Pearson, JP (2003) Colonic mucus: secretion and turnover in relation to dietary fibre intake. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society 62, 245–249.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Burkitt, DP, Walker, ARP, Painter, NS (1972) Effect of dietary fibre on stools and transit times, and its roles in the causation of disease. Lancet ii, 1408–1411.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clausen, MR, Mortensen, PB (1995) Kinetic studies in colonocyte metabolism of short-chain fatty acids and glucose in ulcerative colitis. Gut 37, 684–689.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cross, CE, Halliwell, B, Allen, A (1984) Antioxidant protection – a function of tracheo-bronchial and gastrointestinal mucus. Lancet i, 1328–1330.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cummings, JH (1993) The effect of dietary fiber on faecal weight and composition.In Handbook of Dietary Fiber in Human Nutrition 263 – 349 [Spiller, GA, editor]. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.Google Scholar
Cummings, JH, Bingham, SA, Heaton, KW, Eastwood, MA (1992) Faecal weight, colon cancer risk, and dietary intake of non-starch polysaccharides (dietary fiber). Gastroenterology 103, 1783–1789.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cummings, JH, Hill, MJ, Jenkins, DJA, Pearson, JR, Wiggins, HS (1976) Changes in fecal composition and colonic function due to cereal fiber. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 29, 1468–1473.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Davidson, MH, McDonald, A (1998) Fiber: forms and functions. Nutrition Research 18, 617–624.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Englyst, HN, Quigley, ME, Hudson, GJ (1994) Determination of dietary fibre as non-starch polysaccharides with gas-liquid chromatographic, high-performance liquid chromatographic or spectrophotometric measurement of constituent sugars. Analyst 119, 1497–1509.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Garland, CD, Nash, GV, McMeekin, TA (1982) The preservation of mucus and surface-associated microorganisms using acrolein vapor fixation. Journal of Microscopy – Oxford 128, 307–312.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goodlad, RA, Ratcliffe, B, Fordham, JP, Wright, NA (1989) Does dietary fibre stimulate intestinal epithelial cell proliferation in germ free rats?. Gut 30, 820–825.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Holm, L, Flemstrom, G (1990) Microscopy of acid transport at the gastric surface in vivo. Journal of Internal Medicine 228, 91–95.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Holm-Rutili, L, Obrink, KJ (1985) Rat gastric mucosal microcirculation in vivo. American Journal of Physiology 11, G741–G746.Google Scholar
Hunter, AC (1989) Mucus and mucosal bicarbonate in the gastrointestinal tract. PhD thesis, University of Newcastle upon Tyne.Google Scholar
Izhar, M, Nuchamowitz, Y, Mirelman, D (1982) Adherence of Shigella flexneri to guinea pig intestinal cells is mediated by mucosal adhesion. Infection and Immunity 35, 1110–1118.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jordan, N, Newton, J, Pearson, J, Allen, A (1998) A novel method for the visualization of the in situ mucus layer in rat and man. Clinical Science 95, 97–106.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kerss, S, Allen, A, Garner, A (1982) A simple method for measuring thickness of the mucus gel layer adherent to rat, frog and human gastric mucosa: influence of feeding, prostaglandin, N-acetylcysteine and other agents. Clinical Science 63, 187–195.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McQueen, S, Allen, A, Garner, A (1984) Measurement of gastric and duodenal mucus gel thickness.In Mechanisms of Mucosal Protection in the Upper Gastrointestinal Tract 215 – 219 [Allen, A, editor]. New York: Raven Press.Google Scholar
McQueen, S, Hutton, D, Allen, A, Garner, A (1983) Gastric and duodenal surface mucus gel thickness in rat: effects of prostaglandins and damaging agents. American Journal of Physiology 245, G388–G393.Google ScholarPubMed
Mathers, JC, Fernandez, F, Hill, MJ, McCarthy, PT, Shearer, MJ, Oxley, A (1990) Dietary modification of potential vitamin K supply from enteric bacterial menaquinones in rats. British Journal of Nutrition 63, 639–652.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Morris, GP (1985) The myth of the mucus barrier. Gastroenterologique Clinique et Biologique 9, 1006–1107.Google ScholarPubMed
Morris, GP, Harding, RK, Wallace, JL (1984) A functional model for extracellular gastric mucus in the rat. Virchows Archive 46, 239–251.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Morris, GP, Wallace, JL (1981) The roles of ethanol and of acid in the production of gastric mucosal erosions in rats. Virchaws Archive 38, 23–38.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Neutra, MR, Forstner, JF (1987) Gastrointestinal mucus: synthesis, secretion, and function.In Physiology of the Gastrointestinal Tract 975–1009 [Johnson, LR, editor]. New York: Raven Press. vol. 2.Google Scholar
Newton, J, Jordan, N, Pearson, JP, Allen, A, James, OJ (1998) Thinning of the adherent gastric antral and duodenal mucus gel layer in H. pylori positive subjects with advancing age. Gut 42 A80.Google Scholar
Nyman, M, Asp, N-G (1982) Fermentation of dietary fibre components in the rat intestinal tract. British Journal of Nutrition 47, 357–366.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Nyman, M, Asp, N-G, Cummings, JH, Wiggins, H (1986) Fermentation of dietary fibre in the intestinal tract; comparison between man and rat. British Journal of Nutrition 55, 487–496.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pullan, RD, Thomas, GAO, Rhodes, M, Newcombe, RG, Rhodes, GT, Allen, A, Rhodes, J (1994) Thickness of the adherent mucus gel on colonic mucosa in humans and its relevance to colitis. Gut 35, 353–359.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rozee, KR, Cooper, D, Lam, K, Costerton, JW (1982) Microbialflora of the mouse ileum mucous layer and epithelial surface. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 43, 1451–1463.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sababi, M, Nilsson, E, Holm, L (1995) Mucus and alkali secretion in the rat duodenum – effects of indomethacin, N-omega-nitro-L-arginine, and luminal acid. Gastroenterology 109, 1526–1534.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Schade, C, Flemstrom, G, Holm, L (1994) Hydrogen ion concen-tration in the mucus layer on top of acid-stimulated and acid-inhibited rat gastric mucosa. Gastroenterology 107, 180–188.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sellers, LA, Allen, A, Bennett, MK (1987) Formation of a fibrin based gelatinous coat over repairing rat gastric epithelium after acute ethanol damage: interaction with adherent mucus. Gut 28, 835–843.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Spiller, RC (1994) Pharmacology of dietary fibre. Pharmacology and Therapeutics 62, 407–427.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Stephen, AM, Cummings, JH (1979) Water-holding by dietary fibre in vitro and its relationship to faecal output in man. Gut 20, 722–729.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Strombeck, DR, Harrold, D (1974) Binding of cholera toxin to mucins and inhibition by gastric mucins. Infection and Immunity 10, 1266–1272.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
UK Parliament (1986) Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act London H.M. Stationery Office.Google Scholar
van der Waaij, D (1996) The nature and function of interactions between the intestinal microflora and the host.In Inside Story: A Guide to the Intestinal Microflora 17 – 23 Place of publication: Yakult, Nederland B. V.Google Scholar
Wallace, JL (1989) Gastric resistance to acid: is the ‘mucus-bicarbonate barrier’ functionally redundant?. American Journal of Physiology 256, G31–G38.Google ScholarPubMed
Waynforth, HB, Flecknall, PA (1992) Experimental and Surgical Technique in the Rat London: Academic Press Ltd..Google Scholar