Figure 2.

Gut mechanical barrier components. 1. Mucus layer is the outer mechanical barrier composed by mucus. 2. Epithelial cells: enterocytes, goblet cells, enteroendocrine cells, Paneth cells and microfold cells. 3. Tight junctions (TJs) are composed of proteins that control the paracellular pathway, as well as adherent junctions, desmosomes, and gap junctions. 4. Gut vascular barrier (GVB) constitutes the inner layer of defense, and it is composed by endothelial cells linked by TJs among others and different proteins that play a fundamental role regulating blood vessel permeability. Figure created with BioRender.com.