Interested in our research? Read the latest feature about our research on membrane mucins.
”Fundamentally, we want to understand the principles of human coexistence with trillions of bacteria in our intestines. We as humans are deeply dependent on bacteria, the gut microbiota, for our health. Paradoxically, the same bacteria can turn into vicious enemies if they are not kept in check. Our way of controlling the microbiota is to establish various biological and physical barriers between our tissues and the bacteria. My lab studies the function of membrane mucins that cover the whole length of our small and large intestines. The first membrane mucins were described almost 50 years ago, but their function is still an enigma. We have recently shown that membrane mucins play an important role in protecting our intestinal cells against bacteria. Now, we are starting to realize that they play a much broader role in our coexistence with bacteria. For example, membrane mucins are also present in breast milk, where they present thousands of sugar molecules to the gut microbiota of the infant. These sugar molecules could help select beneficial bacteria or capture and eliminate harmful microbes.”
Read the full feature here.