Muc2-dependent microbial colonization of the jejunal mucus layer is diet sensitive and confers local resistance to enteric pathogen infection.

Intestinal mucus barriers normally prevent microbial infections but are sensitive to diet-dependent changes in the luminal environment. Here we demonstrate that mice fed a Western-style diet (WSD) suffer regiospecific failure of the mucus barrier in the small intestinal jejunum caused by diet-induced mucus aggregation. Mucus barrier disruption due to either WSD exposure or chromosomal Muc2 deletion results in collapse of the commensal jejunal microbiota, which in turn sensitizes mice to atypical jejunal colonization by the enteric pathogen Citrobacter rodentium. We illustrate the jejunal mucus layer as a microbial habitat, and link the regiospecific mucus dependency of the microbiota to distinctive properties of the jejunal niche. Together, our data demonstrate a symbiotic mucus-microbiota relationship that normally prevents jejunal pathogen colonization, but is highly sensitive to disruption by exposure to a WSD

Proteomic Analysis of the Human Anterior Pituitary Gland.

Final publication is available from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers https://doi.org/10.1089/omi.2018.0160The pituitary function is regulated by a complex system involving the hypothalamus and biological networks within the pituitary. Although the hormones secreted from the pituitary have been well studied, comprehensive analyses of the pituitary proteome are limited. Pituitary proteomics is a field of postgenomic research that is crucial to understand human health and pituitary diseases. In this context, we report here a systematic proteomic profiling of human anterior pituitary gland (adenohypophysis) using high-resolution Fourier transform mass spectrometry. A total of 2164 proteins were identified in this study, of which 105 proteins were identified for the first time compared with high-throughput proteomic-based studies from human pituitary glands. In addition, we identified 480 proteins with secretory potential and 187 N-terminally acetylated proteins. These are the first region-specific data that could serve as a vital resource for further investigations on the physiological role of the human anterior pituitary glands and the proteins secreted by them. We anticipate that the identification of previously unknown proteins in the present study will accelerate biomedical research to decipher their role in functioning of the human anterior pituitary gland and associated human diseases.The study was supported by a research grant “DBT Programme Support on Neuroproteomics of Neurological Disorders” to IOB and NIMHANS by DBT, Government of India (BT/01/COE/08/05).This publication was partly supported by a subaward from The Johns Hopkins University, with funds provided from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) (Grant Number: 1RO1NS055628-01A2).J.A. is a recipient of Senior Research Fellowships from the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Government of India. A.T. is a recipient of Senior Research Fellowship from Yenepoya (deemed to be University). V.M. is a recipient of Junior Research Fellowship from Yenepoya (deemed to be University)