Loading…
Please register to continue your trial period!
meRfi Microbiome provides you with up-to-date, evidence-based insights on the gut microbiota and related health topics.
Access our ever-expanding digital library and get personalized answers through our interactive AI chat platform.
Start your free trial and transform your understanding of the gut microbiota today!
The intestinal mucosal barrier controlling the resident microbiome is dependent on a protective mucus layer generated by goblet cells, impairment of which is a hallmark of the inflammatory bowel disease Ulcerative Colitis. Here we show that IL-18 is critical in driving the pathologic breakdown of barrier integrity in a model of colitis. Deletion of IL-18 or its receptor IL-18R1 in intestinal epithelial cells (Δ/EC) conferred protection from colitis and mucosal damage in mice. In contrast, deletion of the IL-18 negative regulator Il18bp resulted in severe colitis associated with loss of mature goblet cells. Colitis and goblet cell loss were rescued in Il18bp−/− ;Il18r Δ/EC mice, demonstrating that colitis sever…