Claudin 2 protein expression is increased in human necrotizing enterocolitis

TL;DRAbstract

We have previously shown that an increase in intestinal permeability precedes NEC in a neonatal mouse model and this permeability change is associated with increased expression of claudin 2 and internalization of claudins 2, 4 and 7 and occludin. Whether these proteins are altered in human NEC remains unknown. In this study, we examined the expression of claudin 2, 4, occludin, and ZO‐1 in control and NEC tissues by immunohistochemistry. Samples from 11 colon controls, 10 colon NEC, 9 small intestine controls and 10 small intestine NEC cases were used for the study. Staining intensity was scored semi‐quantitatively from 0 to 3 by two separate investigators and average scores determined. Claudin 2 expression was low in the colon of control tissues (crypt expression 1.0 ± 0.1, surface expression 1.0 ± 0.2). In small intestinal tissue, there was a decreasing gradient of expression from the crypts to the surface (crypt expression 1.5 ± 0.3 vs surface expression 0.7 ± 0.1, P <0.05). Comp

Chat with Paper

AI Agents for this Paper