Figure 6. nmrHas2 mice are protected from age-related loss of gut barrier function.

a. nmrHas2 mice have a less leaky gut compared with the age-matched controls. Pooled female and male mice. n = 10 (young creER and nmrHas2) and n = 12 (old creER and old nmrHas2) mice. a.u., arbitrary units.

b. GSEA shows that old nmrHas2 mice have a younger intestine at the transcriptome level for both sexes.

c, d. GO term analysis shows that small intestine of old nmrHas2 mice has fewer inflammatory-related pathways upregulated during aging for both female (c) and male (d) mice.

e. Representative pictures of Goblet cell staining in the small intestine of nmrHas2 and creER mice. Scale bar, 50 μm.

f. Quantification of goblet cells in the small intestine of 7- and 24-months old mice (shown in e). Pooled females and males (n=10).

g. Representative pictures of Goblet cell staining in the distal colon of nmrHas2 and creER mice. Scale bar, 50 μm.

h. Goblet cell counts in the distal colon of 7- and 24-month-old mice (shown in g). Pooled female and male mice (n = 10).

i. Representative pictures of Paneth cell staining in the small intestine of nmrHas2 and creER mice. Scale bar, 50 μm.

j. Paneth cells counts in the small intestine of 7- and 24-months old mice. Pooled females and males (n=10).

For a, f, h and j, P values were calculated using two-tailed unpaired t-tests; P values are indicated in the graphs. For a, f, h and j, data are mean ± s.e.m. The symbols represent biological replicates. Adjustments were made for multiple comparisons.