Gastroduodenal mucosal protection

332

343

The mechanisms by which mucus helps prevent viruses from infecting mucosal surfaces are not well understood. We engineered non-mucoadhesive nanoparticles of various sizes and used them as probes to determine the spacing between mucin fibers (pore sizes) in fresh undiluted human cervicovaginal mucus (CVM) obtained from volunteers with healthy vaginal microflora. We found that most pores in CVM have diameters significantly larger than human viruses (average pore size 340 ± 70 nm; range approximately 50–1800 nm). This mesh structure is substantially more open than the 15–100-nm spacing expected assuming mucus consists primarily of a random array of individual mucin fibers. Addition of a nonionic detergent to CVM caused the average pore size to decrease to 130 ± 50 nm. This suggests hydrophobic interactions between lipid-coated “naked” protein regions on mucins normally cause mucin fibers to self-condense and/or bundle with other fibers, creating mucin “cables” at least three times thicker than individual mucin fibers. Although the native mesh structure is not tight enough to trap most viruses, we found that herpes simplex virus (approximately 180 nm) was strongly trapped in CVM, moving at least 8,000-fold slower than non-mucoadhesive 200-nm nanoparticles. This work provides an accurate measurement of the pore structure of fresh, hydrated ex vivo CVM and demonstrates that mucoadhesion, rather than steric obstruction, may be a critical protective mechanism against a major sexually transmitted virus and perhaps other viruses.

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nanoparticles reveal that human cervicovaginal mucus is riddled with pores larger than viruses

Lai

Wang²,

Hida³

et al. 2009

332

343

“…Because of the key role of diffusion in phage reproductive success, we investigated the diffusive properties of T4 and T4Δhoc phage in mucus. Using high-speed multiple particle tracking, we observed the diffusion of both phage types across a range of physiological mucin concentrations: 0%, 0.2%, 0.6%, 1%, 2%, and 4% (wt/vol) mucin in buffer, with 4% representing the highest concentration typically found in a mucosal layer (17). Fluorescence-labeled phages were mixed with a homogenous mucin solution in a well depression on a microscope slide, and their diffusion was microscopically recorded at a temporal resolution of 43.5 ms.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Subdiffusive motion of bacteriophage in mucosal surfaces increases the frequency of bacterial encounters

Barr

Auro

Sam-Soon

et al. 2015

168

186

Bacteriophages (phages) defend mucosal surfaces against bacterial infections. However, their complex interactions with their bacterial hosts and with the mucus-covered epithelium remain mostly unexplored. Our previous work demonstrated that T4 phage with Hoc proteins exposed on their capsid adhered to mucin glycoproteins and protected mucus-producing tissue culture cells in vitro. On this basis, we proposed our bacteriophage adherence to mucus (BAM) model of immunity. Here, to test this model, we developed a microfluidic device (chip) that emulates a mucosal surface experiencing constant fluid flow and mucin secretion dynamics. Using mucus-producing human cells and Escherichia coli in the chip, we observed similar accumulation and persistence of mucus-adherent T4 phage and nonadherent T4Δhoc phage in the mucus. Nevertheless, T4 phage reduced bacterial colonization of the epithelium >4,000-fold compared with T4Δhoc phage. This suggests that phage adherence to mucus increases encounters with bacterial hosts by some other mechanism. Phages are traditionally thought to be completely dependent on normal diffusion, driven by random Brownian motion, for host contact. We demonstrated that T4 phage particles displayed subdiffusive motion in mucus, whereas T4Δhoc particles displayed normal diffusion. Experiments and modeling indicate that subdiffusive motion increases phage-host encounters when bacterial concentration is low. By concentrating phages in an optimal mucus zone, subdiffusion increases their host encounters and antimicrobial action. Our revised BAM model proposes that the fundamental mechanism of mucosal immunity is subdiffusion resulting from adherence to mucus. These findings suggest intriguing possibilities for engineering phages to manipulate and personalize the mucosal microbiome.BAM | virus | mucus | subdiffusion | search strategy I n all animals, mucosal surfaces provide critical immunological services by both protecting against invading bacterial pathogens and supporting large communities of commensal microorganisms (1, 2). Being exposed to the environment, mucosal surfaces are also the infection sites for many important bacterial diseases, including acute diarrhea and cystic fibrosis in humans. This, combined with their accessibility, make mucosal surfaces attractive venues for phage therapy; that is, the use of bacteriophages (phages) to treat and clear bacterial infections (3,4). Clinical success so far has been erratic (5). The complexities and dynamics of the mucus layer are rarely considered, and the activity of phages therein is mostly unknown. Not surprisingly, phages effective in vitro do not consistently reduce mucosal bacterial host levels in vivo (6, 7). An understanding of the interactions between phages and their bacterial hosts within the relevant physiological environment is critical for consistent success of phage therapy applications.The multilayered mucus is composed primarily of gel-forming mucin glycoproteins that are continually secreted by the underlying epithelium (8). The mucin...

“…In particular, the mucin glycoform MUC5B has been identified as the major secreted form of mucin in the mucosal layers protecting the CV tract (45,46), lungs (46,47), nose (48), and eye (49). The mucin content, Ϸ1-3% by weight, is also similar among cervical, nasal, and lung mucus (50)(51)(52)(53)(54). The composition of water in the aforementioned mucus types all falls within the range of 90-98% (52,53,(55)(56)(57).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rapid transport of large polymeric nanoparticles in fresh undiluted human mucus

Lai¹,

O’Hanlon

Harrold

et al. 2007

880

1,012

Nanoparticles larger than the reported mesh-pore size range (10 -200 nm) in mucus have been thought to be much too large to undergo rapid diffusional transport through mucus barriers. However, large nanoparticles are preferred for higher drug encapsulation efficiency and the ability to provide sustained delivery of a wider array of drugs. We used high-speed multiple-particle tracking to quantify transport rates of individual polymeric particles of various sizes and surface chemistries in samples of fresh human cervicovaginal mucus. Both the mucin concentration and viscoelastic properties of these cervicovaginal samples are similar to those in many other human mucus secretions. Unexpectedly, we found that large nanoparticles, 500 and 200 nm in diameter, if coated with polyethylene glycol, diffused through mucus with an effective diffusion coefficient (D eff) only 4-and 6-fold lower than that for the same particles in water (at time scale ‫؍‬ 1 s). In contrast, for smaller but otherwise identical 100-nm coated particles, D eff was 200-fold lower in mucus than in water. For uncoated particles 100 -500 nm in diameter, D eff was 2,400-to 40,000-fold lower in mucus than in water. Much larger fractions of the 100-nm particles were immobilized or otherwise hindered by mucus than the large 200-to 500-nm particles. Thus, in contrast to the prevailing belief, these results demonstrate that large nanoparticles, if properly coated, can rapidly penetrate physiological human mucus, and they offer the prospect that large nanoparticles can be used for mucosal drug delivery. drug delivery ͉ mucosal tissues ͉ particle tracking ͉ PEG