Mucus: Discoveries reshape understanding of gut microbiome.
Excerpt:
Using research models, OMRF's Lijun Xia, M.D., Ph.D., led a team of scientists who found the microbiome controls the creation of a sticky layer of special forms of sugar-enriched mucus that encapsulates and travels with fecal matter. The mucus—which the researchers showed not to be static as previously thought—acts as a barrier between bacteria in feces and the thousands of immune cells in the colon. Without the mucus, the whole system gets thrown out of balance.
"The colon is not just a digestive organ, but an immune organ," said Xia, who holds the Merrick Foundation Chair in Biomedical Research at OMRF. "Our microbiome begins to develop at the moment of birth and evolves throughout our lives. It's essential for the growth and maturation of the acquired immune system in our body. When it's not well developed or cared for, it doesn't operate as it should, which can lead to diseases."
The overall health of the gut microbiome is dependent on the presence of its mucus. And although mucus production can be interrupted, OMRF researchers showed that it can be restored
Recent gut-microbiome paper: Metagenomics of Parkinson’s disease implicates the gut microbiome in multiple disease mechanisms (Nov 2022)
The Gut-Brain Connection: How it Works and The Role of Nutrition; Explained in layman's language as per Healthline
Could Butyrate Be Bad for PWP? (MIT Study)
