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This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: 293/4/G780    most recent 00010.2007v1 Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in ISI Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Meng, D. Articles by Nanthakumar, N. N. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Meng, D. Articles by Nanthakumar, N. N.

MUCOSAL BIOLOGY

Bacterial symbionts induce a FUT2-dependent fucosylated niche on colonic epithelium via ERK and JNK signaling

¹Developmental Gastroenterology Laboratory, Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition Unit, Department of Pediatrics, Massachusetts General Hospital for Children and Harvard Clinical Nutrition Research Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts; ²Department of Microbiology, Pathology and Parasitology, North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine, Raleigh, North Carolina; and ³Center for Gastrointestinal Biology and Disease, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina

Submitted 5 January 2007 ; accepted in final form 29 July 2007

The intestinal epithelium of the adult gut supports a complex, dynamic microbial ecosystem and expresses highly fucosylated glycans on its surface. Uncolonized gut contains little fucosylated glycan. The transition toward adult colonization, such as during recovery from germ-free status or from antibiotic treatment, increased expression of fucosylated epitopes in the colonic epithelium. This increase in fucosylation is accompanied by induction of fut2 mRNA expression and 1,2/3-fucosyltransferase activity. Colonization stimulates ERK and JNK signal transduction pathways, resulting in activation of transcription factors ATF2 and c-Jun, respectively. This increases transcription of fut2 mRNA and expression of 1,2/3-fucosyltransferase activity, resulting in a highly fucosylated intestinal mucosa characteristic of the adult mammalian gut. Blocking the ERK and JNK signaling cascade inhibits the ability of colonization to induce elevated fut2 mRNA and fucosyltransferase activity in the mature colon. Thus pioneer-mutualist symbiotic bacteria may utilize the ERK and JNK signaling cascade to induce the high degree of fucosylation characteristic of adult mammalian colon, and we speculate that this fucosylation facilitates colonization by adult microbiota.

bacterial colonization; fucosylation