An Adherent Mucus Layer Attenuates the Genotoxic Effect of Colibactin

In this study, we used a variety of cell culture models, among them a 3D cell culture approach based on decellularized small intestinal submucosa, to investigate whether the intestinal mucus layer has the potential to interfere with colibactin activity. We demonstrate that the expression of mucins and the formation of an adherent mucus layer significantly increased with increasing complexity of cell culture. Moreover, we show that the presence of an adherent mucus layer on epithelial cells attenuates the genotoxic activity of colibactin, by preventing the induction of DNA‐DSBs. Removal of the adherent mucus layer restored the occurrence of DNA‐DSBs.
Source: Cellular Microbiology - Category: Microbiology Authors: Tags: RESEARCH ARTICLE Source Type: research