Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Mammals regulate the localization, composition, and activity of their native microbiota at colonization sites. Lectins residing at these sites influence microbial populations, but their individual functions are often unclear. Intelectins are found in chordates at mucosal barriers, but their functions are not well characterized. We found that mouse intelectin-2 (mItln2) and human intelectin-2 (hItln2) engage and crosslink mucins via carbohydrate recognition. Moreover, both lectins recognize microbes within native microbial communities, including gram-positive and gram-negative isolates from the respiratory and gastrointestinal tracts. This ability to engage mammalian and microbial glycans arises from calcium-coordinated binding of carbohydrate residues within mucus and microbial surfaces. Microbes, but not human cells, bound by mItln2 or hItln2, suffer a loss of viability. These findings underscore the crucial antimicrobial role of mammalian intelectin-2 in mucosal defense, where it plays offensive (microbial killing) and defensive (mucus crosslinking) roles in regulating microbial colonization.
Source: Nature Communications
Authors: Amanda E. Dugan, Deepsing Syangtan, Eric B. Nonnecke, Rajeev S. Chorghade, Amanda L. Peiffer, Jenny J. Yao, Jessica Ille-Bunn, Dallis Sergio, Gleb Pishchany, Catherine Dhennezel, Hera Vlamakis, Sunhee Bae, Sheila Johnson, Chariesse Ellis, Soumi Ghosh, Jill W. Alty, Carolyn E. Barnes, Miri Krupkin, Gerardo Cárcamo-Oyarce, Katharina Ribbeck, Ramnik J. Xavier, Charles L. Bevins, Laura L. Kiessling
Language: English
Subfield: Molecular Biology
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $6,990
Funders: National Science Foundation, Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, National Institutes of Health, National Institute of General Medical Sciences, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, Common Fund
Awards: G1330203626, Collaborative Research: MIM: Learning how mucus shapes and maintains microbiomes, G1589144027, Synthetic Ligands for Directing Immune Responses, G3891730054, G4069311438, G515280147, G56140040, G707340384, G9000005946, G9000061568, G9000083956, G9000146438, G9000174207, Center for the Study of Inflammatory Bowel Disease at Massachusetts General Hospital
OpenAlex ID: W7123352424