Entamoeba histolytica cysteine proteases cleave the MUC2 mucin in its C-terminal domain and dissolve the protective colonic mucus gel.
Entamoeba histolytica cysteine proteases cleave the MUC2 mucin in its C-terminal domain and dissolve the protective colonic mucus gel.
Martin E. Lidell,D. Moncada,K. Chadee,G. Hansson
2006 · DOI: 10.1073/PNAS.0600623103
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 267 Citations
TLDR
A specific cleavage mechanism used by an enteric pathogen to disrupt the polymeric nature of the mucin gel is identified and suggests a major role for E.h. cysteine proteases in overcoming the protective mucus barrier in the pathogenesis of invasive amoebiasis.