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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2021 Oct 1.
Published in final edited form as: Nat Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2020 Jul 24;17(10):597–617. doi: 10.1038/s41575-020-0331-7

Figure 6. COSMC and O-glycans spatially regulate the gut microbiota.

Figure 6.

COSMC regulates extension of O-glycans in intestinal epithelia and formation of the colonic mucus layer, separating the gut microbiota from contact with the intestinal epithelia. In mice, loss of Cosmc leads to loss of extended O-glycans and increased bacterial–epithelial contact in the colon. This loss coincides with a loss of bacterial diversity and the emergence of a pro-inflammatory pathobiont in the colonic mucosa but not in the overlying lumen or ileal mucosa15. These changes correspond to the spatial dysbiosis observed in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)82.