Dynamic changes in mucus thickness and ion secretion during Citrobacter rodentium infection and clearance.

ABSTRACT: Citrobacter rodentium is an attaching and effacing pathogen used as a murine model for enteropathogenic Escherichia coli. The mucus layers are a complex matrix of molecules, and mucus swelling, hydration and permeability are affected by many factors, including ion composition. Here, we used the C. rodentium model to investigate mucus dynamics during infection. By measuring the mucus layer thickness in tissue explants during infection, we demonstrated that the thickness changes dynamically during the course of infection and that its thickest stage coincides with the start of a decrease of bacterial density at day 14 after infection. Although quantitative PCR analysis demonstrated that mucin mRNA increases during early infection, the increased mucus layer thickness late in infection was not

SUBMITTER: Gustafsson JK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3875541 | biostudies-literature | 2013

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature