VAMP8-mediated MUC2 mucin exocytosis from colonic goblet cells maintains innate intestinal homeostasis

Abstract

The mucus layer is the first line of innate host defense in the gut that protects the epithelium by spatially separating commensal bacteria. MUC2 mucin is produced and stored by goblet cells that is constitutively exocytosed or hyper secreted upon sensing a threat. How coordinated mucus exocytosis maintains homeostasis in the intestinal epithelium and modulates the immunological landscape remains elusive. Here we describe how the vesicle SNARE protein VAMP8 coordinates mucin exocytosis from goblet cells. Vamp8−/− exhibit a mild pro-inflammatory state basally due to an altered mucus layer and increased encounters with microbial antigens. Microbial diversity shifts to a detrimental microbiota with an increase abundance of pathogenic and mucolytic bacteria. To alleviate the heavy microbial burden and inflammatory state basally, Vamp8−/− skews towards tolerance. Despite this, Vamp8−/− is highly susceptible to both chemical and infectious colitis demonstrating the fragility of the intestinal mucosa without proper mucus exocytosis mechanisms.