Expression Profiling along the Murine Intestine: Different Mucosal Protection Systems and Alterations in -Deficient Animals.

Tff1 is a typical gastric peptide secreted together with the mucin, Muc5ac. -deficient () mice are well known for their prominent gastric phenotype and represent a recognized model for antral tumorigenesis. Notably, intestinal abnormalities have also been reported in the past in these animals. Here, we have compared the expression of selected genes in mice and their corresponding wild-type littermates (RT-PCR analyses), focusing on different mucosal protection systems along the murine intestine. As hallmarks, genes were identified with maximum expression in the proximal colon and/or the duodenum: , //, , , , , /, . This is indicative of different protection systems such as Tff2/Muc6, Tff1-Fcgbp, gastrokines, fucosylation, and reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the proximal colon and/or duodenum. Few significant transcriptional changes were observed in the intestine of mice when compared with wild-type littermates, (), , , , . We also analyzed the expression of , , and in the pancreas, liver, and lung of and wild-type animals, indicating a cross-regulation of gene expression. Furthermore, on the protein level, heteromeric Tff1-Fcgbp and various monomeric Tff1 forms were identified in the duodenum and a high-molecular-mass Tff2/Muc6 complex was identified in the proximal colon (FPLC, proteomics).