Daniel Hornikx
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E-mail: daniel.hornikx[at]ru.nl Phone: +31(0)24 3610559 HG: lab 03.318 |
Epithelial glycosylation in the human colon and cross-talk with the microbiome
Within the gastrointestinal tract, the epithelial cells are protected by a mucus gel layer (MGL). The MGL consists of various mucins which are heavily glycosylated. In healthy conditions, the MGL is thick and protects the epithelium from food particles and toxins. In colorectal cancer tissue, the mucus production is gone array, resulting in a less well-organized mucus layer. Next to this, many tumors show expression of a different mucins than observed in the healthy mucus layer. In inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) the mucus layer has virtually disappeared and thus can no longer protect the epithelial cells from bacteria.
While we know the glycosylation can be altered, we do not know how colonic glycosylation is regulated and what changes in disease settings. Glycosylation will be studied in vitro with 2D and 3D models, and by using techniques like omics and CRISPR-Cas. This will be done in healthy and diseased settings.
Exogenous factors are also known to influence the colonic MGL, like microbiota. Currently little is known about how bacteria influence glycosylation and process mucins. Therefore, analysis of the bacterial (endo)toxins, enzymes and proteins will be studied in the context of mucus degradation.