The decrease of fucosylation in intestinal epithelium is related to the development of necrotizing enterocolitis
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Updated: Nov 20, 2025

In Vitro Apical-Out Enteroid Model of Necrotizing Enterocolitis
Published on: June 8, 2022
1Department of Neonatology, Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China; Chongqing Key Laboratory of Pediatrics, Chongqing, China; Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Child Development and Disorders, Chongqing, China; National Clinical Research Center for Child Health and Disorder, Chongqing, China; China International Science and Technology Cooperation Base of Child Development and Critical Disorders, Chongqing, China.
Abstract:
Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is a devastating neonatal gastrointestinal emergency. Fucosylated glycans on intestinal epithelial cells (IECs) play a central role in the maintenance of intestinal homeostasis. Nevertheless, its association with necrotizing enterocolitis is not clear. We examined paraffin-embedded intestinal specimens from participants and found that the NEC patients showed lower intestinal epithelial fucosylation levels than the control patients. In the mouse model of NEC, the percentage of fucosylated epithelial cells (F-ECs) and ILC3s was decreased. Also, the expression levels of IL-22 and Fut2 were reduced. Moreover, the critical role of epithelial fucosylation in NEC was further confirmed by administering the anti-IL-22 antibody, which caused an increase in histological damage, body weight loss, intestinal permeability and proinflammatory cytokine release correlated with a reduction of F-ECs. Overall, intestinal fucosylation deficiency led to increased susceptibility and severity of NEC. Further studies are needed to determine whether modification of intestinal fucosylation affects the development of NEC.
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