Polymers in the gut compress the colonic mucus hydrogel
Abstract
Hydrogels are critical components of biological systems; however, how these structures are affected by polymers abundant in their environments (e.g., dietary fiber in the gut and soluble glycoproteins in tissues) remains unknown. Here we find that the colonic mucus hydrogel (a protective barrier and mediator of microbe–host interactions) is compressed by gut polymers. Surprisingly, the predictions of a simple thermodynamic model are able to describe our experiments on this complex biological system, providing insight into the underlying physics. Moreover, we find that gut microbes modulate mucus structure by degrading dietary polymers into smaller, noncompressing fragments. These findings reveal a mechanism of mucus restructuring and illustrate an unexpected interplay between diet, gut microbiota, and the biological structures that protect a host.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Pub Defense Publication
- Publication Date
- Jun 14, 2016
- Source ID
- 10.1073/pnas.1602789113
Entities
People
- Asher Preska Steinberg
- Rustem F. Ismagilov
- Sujit S. Datta
Organizations
- California Institute of Technology
- Division of Graduate Education
- Emerging Frontiers Office