Microbiota colonising the new born colon prime goblet cells producing the gut-protective mucus 📷 Åsa Johansson et al @gobletcellguy.bsky.social University of Gothenburg in @jem.org ➡️ bpod.org.uk/archive/2025...
George Birchenough
@gobletcellguy.bsky.social
Updates from the Birchenough Lab, one of the Mucin Biology Groups based at the University of Gothenburg. All things goblet cell, mucus and mucin. Check us out: www.birchenoughlab.org https://www.medkem.gu.se/mucinbiology/
Happy to see this finally published 🙌 Thanks to the editors and reviewers for the constructive process 😎
Journal of Experimental Medicine@jem.org · 2y agoThe colonic mucus barrier & sentinel goblet cells protect the distal gut from microbial challenges. Johansson, @gobletcellguy.bsky.social et al show that microbial colonization drives sequential development of both of these barrier mechanisms in the pre-weaning intestine. rupress.org/jem/article/...
Abstract deadline for #GGIG2025 is approaching fast! Don’t miss your chance to share your research at the 5th Ghent Gut Inflammation Group Meeting! 🧬🦠 www.vibconferences.be/events/5th-g...
5th Ghent Gut Inflammation Group Meeting
15-16 May 2025, Ghent, Belgium Host-microbiota interactions in health and disease
vibconferences.be
Which cells use Myd88 to control Segmented Filamentous Bacteria colonization? Here work explores the hematopoietic MyD88/IL-22 axis during SFB growth. www.mucosalimmunology.org/article/S193...
My colleague Sjoerd van der Post just quietly dropped a preprint defining the interaction of the #ETEC SPATE family enzyme EatA with intestinal Muc2, providing some fascinating insights into host specific #mucus degradation 🤯. Check it out: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Degradation of the intestinal mucus layer by the ETEC protease EatA is species specific determined by the structure of the MUC2 mucin
Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) infections are a leading cause of diarrheal illness, responsible for an estimated 100,000 deaths annually. ETEC pathogenesis is driven by various virulence fact...
biorxiv.org
Nice discussion around the ongoing #glycoRNA debate, check out the comments
Chris Ashwood@cashwood.proteaglyco.com · 2y agoSecond preprint casting doubt on glycoRNA. “we further demonstrate that recombinant soluble LAMP1 can be purified following the glycoRNA isolation method… thus representing a considerable source of glycans in samples of glycoRNA” Still waiting for a journal publication of either preprint.
In our lates review, we explore new insights into the gut-joint axis, a connection is not absolute. A causal role for the microbiota is context-dependent, and arthritis can also arise independently through sterile mechanisms: authors.elsevier.com/a/1kkn55Eb0R... #GutJointAxis
authors.elsevier.com
So excited to share this latest work by @kelseyhuus.bsky.social !!! She shows that flagellin in the human gut affects whether or not people develop fever in response to vaccine, and the amount of flagellin reflects diet
bioRxiv Microbiology@biorxiv-microbiol.bsky.social · 2y agoFlagellin in the human gut microbiome is a diet-adjustable adjuvant for vaccination https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.02.21.639485v1
glycowork v1.5 is now released! We're excited to see the cool things you'll be doing with it:-) Lots of new & improved functionality, check out the Release notes for the full change log:
Release v1.5.0 · BojarLab/glycowork
Changelog [1.5.0] Added ✨ Added type hints to all functions (e6721a1) Added CodeCov shield to track PyTest test code coverage (23d6456) Added more PyTest unit tests (e.g., 0c94995, 23d6456, 5a99d6...
github.com
Happy to announce that MEDI, our method to quantify dietary intake through metagenomics is out now. 🧬 🧪🧫🦠 www.nature.com/articles/s42... #metagenomics #microbiome #microbiomesky So what is MEDI? A combination of two things:
Metagenomic estimation of dietary intake from human stool - Nature Metabolism
Diener et al. present a method that allows the estimation of dietary intake from human stool by detecting food-derived DNA in faecal metagenomes.
nature.com
For all the #mucus fans out there who believe in our knight in slimy armour and want to join the starter pack 👇 contact @gobletcellguy.bsky.social #mucusmatters
George Birchenough@gobletcellguy.bsky.social · 2y agoJust in case any new #mucus, #Goblet cell or #mucin folks have joined up recently, we have a small but growing starter pack for this area - let me know if you want in 🫡 go.bsky.app/7Z84CmG
1/ 🚨 New preprint alert! 🚨 We’re thrilled to share our latest work exploring microbiome & genomic #Bifidobacterium co-evolutionary & functional signatures across diverse animal hosts. This has been a long time coming, & huge credit to Magda for her incredible hard work as first author! 🐾✨👇
Host-specific microbiome and genomic signatures in Bifidobacterium reveal co-evolutionary and functional adaptations across diverse animal hosts
Animal hosts harbour divergent microbiota, including various Bifidobacterium species and strains, yet their evolutionary relationships, and functional adaptions remain understudied. By integrating tax...
doi.org
This was a fun study from Scott Hultgrens lab that we contributed to, led by Philippe Azimzadeh, looking at #UPEC interactions with colonic #mucus: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Mechanisms of uropathogenic E. coli mucosal association in the gastrointestinal tract
Inverse regulation of flagella and type 1 pili facilitates access to colon mucus by uropathogenic E. coli.
science.org
New paper out today from the lab on Akkermansia muciniphila 🦠and how it breaks down host glycans! Very proud of my group, especially @cassiebakshani.bsky.social who did an amazing job. @naturemicrobiol.bsky.social www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Carbohydrate-active enzymes from Akkermansia muciniphila break down mucin O-glycans to completion - Nature Microbiology
Biochemical characterization of 66 carbohydrate-active enzymes from the gut microorganism Akkermansia muciniphila reveals that these enzymes can break down a range of host glycans, including mucin, wh...
nature.com
Discovery of a new Cu-dependent cellulose degrading enzyme for biomass conversion #glycotime (trying to overlook the extraneous proton, see if you can find it) www.nature.com/articles/s41...
A metagenomic ‘dark matter’ enzyme catalyses oxidative cellulose conversion - Nature
A metalloenzyme capable of oxidatively cleaving cellulose, found in a microbial community specialized in lignocellulose degradation, could enable sustainable biofuel production.
nature.com
Don’t miss #ASRI2025 in St. Paul Minnesota May 17-21. Check out fantastic talks on the Maternal, Fetal, and Neonatal Immunology and submit your abstract by 2/15! theasri.org/Abstracts-Po...
Still time to submit late breaking abstract to this fantastic meeting: www.perinatal-immunity.de/en/symposium...
International Symposium on Perinatal and Early Life Immunity | perinatal immunity immunology TRR 359 PILOT
perinatal-immunity.de
The measles outbreak in Texas is reminding me of the public letter Roald Dahl wrote about losing his daughter to measles in 1962, just before the vaccine was publicly available.
Just in case any new #mucus, #Goblet cell or #mucin folks have joined up recently, we have a small but growing starter pack for this area - let me know if you want in 🫡 go.bsky.app/7Z84CmG
Now that we're into #GPCR biology, I get to include (what I'm sure is) a very original joke in my journal club presentation...
Sadie Schaus gives an interesting, well presented talk showing that Ruminococcus digestion of mucin (specifically MUC2) releases nutrients that support B. Theta growth. This is important because mucin can contain over 100 types of molecules! journals.asm.org/doi/full/10.... #BeneficialMicrobes
Ruminococcus torques is a keystone degrader of intestinal mucin glycoprotein, releasing oligosaccharides used by Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron | mBio
An important facet of maintaining healthy symbiosis between host and intestinal microbes is the mucus layer, the first defense protecting the epithelium from lumenal bacteria. Some gut bacteria degrad...
journals.asm.org
How do massive megaDalton-sized transmembrane mucins reach the plasma membrane in intestinal epithelial cells? 🧐 Using proximity labeling, proteomics, and CRISPR KO, we uncovered key roles for MYO1B, MYO5B, and SNX27 in mucin transport. portlandpress.com/biochemj/art... #mucins #glycotime
The MYO1B and MYO5B motor proteins and the sorting nexin SNX27 regulate apical targeting of membrane mucin MUC17 in enterocytes
A dense glycocalyx, composed of the megaDalton-sized membrane mucin MUC17, coats the microvilli in the apical brush border of transporting intestinal epithelial cells, called enterocytes. The formatio...
portlandpress.com
Biochemical characterization of 66 carbohydrate-active enzymes from the gut microorganism Akkermansia muciniphila reveals that these enzymes can break down a range of host glycans, including mucin, which they degrade to completion, according to a Nature Microbiology paper. 🧪
Carbohydrate-active enzymes from Akkermansia muciniphila break down mucin O-glycans to completion - Nature Microbiology
Biochemical characterization of 66 carbohydrate-active enzymes from the gut microorganism Akkermansia muciniphila reveals that these enzymes can break down a range of host glycans, including mucin, which they degrade to completion.
go.nature.com
Its stories like this that makes me incredibly excited! A gut immune–epithelial circuit regulating tolerance to food: Goblet cell protein RELMβ disrupts tolerance by depleting microbiome-derived indoles needed for protective Tregs. #microbiome #immunity #ImmunoSky www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Dear mucosal immunologists! Registration for the European Mucosal Immunology Group (EMIG) meeting in Aachen, Germany is now open. Register and see you this July in Aachen! 👇🏼 emig2025.de @petterbrodin.bsky.social @wiag.bsky.social @mucosalimmunol.bsky.social @societymucosalimm.bsky.social
🎄 Santa came early this year!🎄 We’re unwrapping an exciting discovery from our lab that reveals the critical role of the transmembrane mucin MUC17 in protecting the small intestine against bacterial challenges. insight.jci.org/articles/vie... #mucins #glycotime #Crohns #gut
JCI Insight - MUC17 is an essential small intestinal glycocalyx component that is disrupted in Crohn’s disease
insight.jci.org
What are lumens and how do forces control tissue form and fate through lumen size? Join me, @dhirajindana.bsky.social, in this short thread to explore this question through some fascinating papers.
