The lumen of the small intestine (SI) is filled with particulates: microbes, therapeutic particles, and food granules. The structure of this particulate suspension could impact uptake of drugs and nutrients and the function of microorganisms; however, little is understood about how this suspension is re-structured as it transits the gut. Here, we demonstrate that particles spontaneously aggregate in SI luminal fluid ex vivo. We find that mucins and immunoglobulins are not required for aggregation. Instead, aggregation can be controlled using polymers from dietary fiber in a manner that is qualitatively consistent with polymer-induced depletion interactions, which do not require specific chemical interactions. Furthermore, we find that aggregation is tunable; by feeding mice dietary fibers of different molecular weights, we can control aggregation in SI luminal fluid. This work suggests that the molecular weight and concentration of dietary polymers play an underappreciated role in shaping the physicochemical environment of the gut.
Pubmed ID: 30666958 RIS Download
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Software package as distribution of ImageJ and ImageJ2 together with Java, Java3D and plugins organized into coherent menu structure. Used to assist research in life sciences.
View all literature mentionsInternational, curated, digital repository that makes the data underlying scientific publications discoverable, freely reusable, and citable. Particularly data for which no specialized repository exists. Provides the infrastructure for, and promotes the re-use of, data underlying the scholarly literature. Governed by a nonprofit membership organization. Membership is open to any stakeholder organization, including but not limited to journals, scientific societies, publishers, research institutions, libraries, and funding organizations. Most data are associated with peer-reviewed articles, although data associated with non-peer reviewed publications from reputable academic sources, such as dissertations, are also accepted. Used to validate published findings, explore new analysis methodologies, repurpose data for research questions unanticipated by the original authors, and perform synthetic studies.UC system is member organization of Dryad general subject data repository.
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View all literature mentionsThis unknown targets IgG
View all literature mentionsThis polyclonal targets IgG
View all literature mentionsThis polyclonal targets IgG
View all literature mentionsMus musculus with name C57BL/6J from IMSR.
View all literature mentionsMus musculus with name B6.129S7-Rag1tm1Mom/J from IMSR.
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