Hydrophobicity of mucosal surface and its relationship to gut barrier function

Loss of the gut barrier has been implicated in the pathogenesis of the multiple organ dysfunction syndrome, and, thus, understanding the intestinal barrier is of potential clinical importance. An important, but relatively neglected, component of the gut barrier is the unstirred mucus layer, which through its hydrophobic and other properties serves as an important barrier to bacterial and other factors within the gut lumen. Thus, the goal of this study was to establish a reproducible method of measuring mucosal hydrophobicity and test the hypothesis that conditions that decrease mucosal hydrophobicity are associated with increased gut permeability. Hydrophobicity was measured in various segments of normal gut by measuring the contact angle of an aqueous droplet placed on the mucosal surface using a commercial goniometer. Second, the effect of the mucolytic agent N-acetyl cysteine on mucosal hydrophobicity and gut permeability was measured, as was the effects of increasing periods of in vivo gut ischemia on these parameters. Gut ischemia was induced by superior mesenteric artery occlusion, and gut permeability was measured by the mucosal-to-serosal passage of fluoresceine isothiocyanate-dextran (4.3 kDa) (FD4) across the everted sacs of ileum. Intestinal mucosal hydrophobicity showed a gradual increase from the duodenum to the end of the ileum and remained at high level in the cecum, colon, and rectum. Both N-acetyl cysteine treatment and ischemia caused a dose-dependent decrease in mucosal hydrophobicity, which significantly correlated increased gut permeability. Mucosal hydrophobicity of the intestine can be reproducibly measured, and decreases in mucosal hydrophobicity closely correlate with increased gut permeability. These results suggest that mucosal hydrophobicity can be a reliable method of measuring the barrier function of the unstirred mucus layer and a useful parameter in evaluating the pathogenesis of gut barrier dysfunction.