Investigating the Role of Mucin as Frontline Defense of Mucosal Surfaces against Mycobacterium avium Subsp. hominissuis

Table 6

M. avium 104, A5, and 4B2 mutant binding to the mucin.

Bacteria	Binding
	% bacteria to MUC2 mucin	% bacteria to MUC5b mucin
M. avium 104	0	0
M. avium A5	0	0
M. avium 4B2	32 ± 3	36 ± 8

Results demonstrated that the cell wall-associate mutant has increased ability to interact with MUC2 and MUC5b mucins. compared to the binding of the wild-type bacteria. M. avium 4B2 has been described previously, and it is deficient in colonization of the intestinal and respiratory mucosa. The mutant and wild-type were inhabited in a surface covered by MUC2 or MUC5b.