A sentinel goblet cell guards the colonic crypt by triggering Nlrp6-dependent Muc2 secretion

Abstract

Mounting the intestinal barricades Gut microbiota are important for health and well-being, but they need to be kept under control and prevented from doing any harm. Birchenough et al. investigated the microbial molecules that trigger protective mucus secretion from a class of goblet cells in the colon. Once the molecules are detected, an alarm signal is transmitted from these cells via innate immune signal mediators and inflammasome components to adjacent cells, generating more mucus and repelling the invaders. Subsequently, the sentinel goblet cells are expelled from the epithelium and their remains may also add to the protective barricade. Science , this issue p. 1535