Review
Mucins and inflammatory bowel disease
Tarek Shirazia, Robert J Longmanb, Anthony P Corfielda, Christopher S J Proberta
a University of
Bristol, Bristol Royal Infirmary: University Department of Medicine, b University Department of Surgery
Correspondence to: Dr T Shirazi, Department of Gastroenterology, Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital, Barrack Road, Wonford, Exeter, Devon EX2 5DW, UK (email: t.shirazi{at}virgin.net)
Submitted 14 June 1999;
Accepted 22 September 1999
There is a layer of mucus lining the gastrointestinal tract,
which acts as both a lubricant and as a physical barrier between luminal contents and the mucosal surface. The mucins that make up this
layer consist of a protein backbone with oligosaccharides attached to
specific areas of the protein core. These areas are called the variable
number tandem repeat regions. The degree of glycosylation of the mucins
is central to their role in the mucus barrier. The oligosaccharides are
variable and complex. It has been demonstrated that the degree of
sulphation and sialylation and the length of the oligosaccharide chains
all vary in inflammatory bowel disease. These changes can alter the
function of the mucins. Mucins are broadly divided into two groups,
those that are secreted and those that are membrane bound. The major
mucins present in the colorectum are MUC1, MUC2, MUC3, and MUC4.
Trefoils are a group of small peptides that have an important role in
the mucus layer. Three trefoils have been demonstrated so far. They
seem to play a part in mucosal protection and in mucosal repair. They
may help to stabilise the mucus layer by cross linking with mucins to
aid formation of stable gels. Trefoils can be expressed in the ulcer
associated cell lineage, a glandular structure that can occur in the
inflamed mucosa. There seem to be differences in the expression of
trefoils in the colon and the small bowel, which may imply different
method of mucosal repair.
Keywords: mucins; trefoil; Crohn's disease; colitis
© 2000 by The Fellowship of Postgraduate Medicine
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