Ontogenic and nutritional modifications in the intestinal fucosylation process at the weaning period. Influence of dietary fibers

Enforced fucosylation of neonatal CD34+ cells generates selectin ligands that enhance the initial interactions with microvessels but not homing to bone marrow

“…49 In the intestinal mucosa, a shift from sialylation to fucosylation, associated with induction of fucosyltransferase activities, has been reported following the introduction of dietary fibers in weaning rats. 50 This suggests that the net fucosyltranferase activities in certain tissues can be modulated after birth. The significant reduction in FucTVII mRNA in SL neg cells suggests that their reduced FucT activity is likely regulated at the transcriptional level and not from endogenous protein inhibitors that could target the FucT enzyme(s) or GDP-fucose.…”

Effect of nonpathogenic Escherichia coli monoassociation on small intestinal brush-border glycoconjugate moieties and cytokine production after colonization in ex-germ-free rats and pigs

“…37,38 Fucosylation was found to increase during weaning, accompanied by nutritional changes and variations in two fucosyltransferase activities FUT1 and FUT2, both expressed in rat 39 and pig 40 small intestines. Detection of α1,2-linked fucose by UEA-I lectin and fucoglycoconjugates recognized by AAL lectin in the brush borders indicated appearance of these structures in the suckling period with an increase after weaning up to a maximum between 30-60 days of conventionally raised rats (Figure 2).…”