Figure 4.

Rapid restoration of colon ischemia-reperfusion-induced mucus barrier loss by goblet cell compound exocytosis. In healthy colon, bacteria are separated from the epithelium by a thick mucus layer (A; DAPI, Blue: nuclei. EUB338, Red: bacteria); During ischemia and early reperfusion, the mucus barrier is damaged leading to penetration of bacteria deep into the colonic crypts (B). Goblet cells respond by massive release of their granules into the crypt lumen (so called compound exocytosis), which led to a recoverd mucus layer at 240 min of reperfusion in the rat intestine (C). Note that bacterial clearance is accompanied by depletion of goblet cell contents.