Herath Madushani, Hosie Suzanne, Bornstein Joel C, Franks Ashley E, Hill-Yardin Elisa L
Department of Physiology, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia.
School of Health and Biomedical Sciences, RMIT University, Bundoora, VIC, Australia.
Front Cell Infect Microbiol. 2020 May 28;10:248. doi: 10.3389/fcimb.2020.00248. eCollection 2020.
Mucus is integral to gut health and its properties may be affected in neurological disease. Mucus comprises a hydrated network of polymers including glycosylated mucin proteins. We propose that factors that influence the nervous system may also affect the volume, viscosity, porosity of mucus composition and subsequently, gastrointestinal (GI) microbial populations. The gut has its own intrinsic neuronal network, the enteric nervous system, which extends the length of the GI tract and innervates the mucosal epithelium. The ENS regulates gut function including mucus secretion and renewal. Both dysbiosis and gut dysfunction are commonly reported in several neurological disorders such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease as well in patients with neurodevelopmental disorders including autism. Since some microbes use mucus as a prominent energy source, changes in mucus properties could alter, and even exacerbate, dysbiosis-related gut symptoms in neurological disorders. This review summarizes existing knowledge of the structure and function of the mucus of the GI tract and highlights areas to be addressed in future research to better understand how intestinal homeostasis is impacted in neurological disorders.
黏液对肠道健康至关重要，其特性可能在神经疾病中受到影响。黏液由包括糖基化黏蛋白在内的聚合物水合网络组成。我们提出，影响神经系统的因素也可能影响黏液成分的体积、黏度、孔隙率，进而影响胃肠道（GI）微生物群。肠道有其自身的内在神经网络，即肠神经系统，它沿胃肠道全长延伸并支配黏膜上皮。肠神经系统调节肠道功能，包括黏液分泌和更新。在帕金森病和阿尔茨海默病等几种神经疾病以及包括自闭症在内的神经发育障碍患者中，通常都有微生物群失调和肠道功能障碍的报道。由于一些微生物将黏液作为主要能量来源，黏液特性的变化可能会改变甚至加剧神经疾病中与微生物群失调相关的肠道症状。本综述总结了胃肠道黏液结构和功能的现有知识，并强调了未来研究中需要解决的领域，以更好地理解神经疾病如何影响肠道稳态。
