Fig. 7.

LTA induces mucin via TLR2 signaling. a Treatment of mouse intestinal goblet CMT-93 cells with 200 μg/ml LTA derived from D3.5 cell wall increased Muc2 mRNA expression, while LTA derived from D10.4 cell wall shows no effects. b mRNA expression of Muc2 was significantly increased in D3.5 LTA-treated CMT93 goblet cells, while this induction disappeared in TLR2 inhibitor (CU CPT22; 8 μM)-treated cells. c Mucin protein expression (measured by Western blot) in the colon was also increased in 5-day D3-5 and LTA-treated C57BL/6J (B6) young mice, while these effects of D3-5 and LTA treatment disappeared in age- and gender-matched TLR2 KO mice. d–g Similarly, goblet cell mass (AB/PAS staining) and numbers (d, e) were increased in D3-5 and LTA-treated B6 control mice, while these effects were not seen in TLR2 KO mice (f, g). Values are mean of n = 5–8 mice per group ± SEM (error bars). Values with *p < 0.05, **p < 0.001 are statistically significant. ns: not significant