Fig. 2: Muc2^−/− mice are highly susceptibility to sepsis.

a Comparative sensitivities of Muc2^−/− littermates to sepsis following intraperitoneal administration of LPS at 5 mg/kg body weight. Untreated animals received a similar dose of monophosphoryl lipid A (MPLAs). LPS caused higher body weight loss and mortality in Muc2^−/− littermates (n = 8). Representative data from four independent experiments; paired one-way ANOVA. b Comparative analysis of pro-inflammatory cytokines levels at different time points in the blood following LPS challenge indicating unregulated heightened immune response in Muc2^−/− littermates (n = 6). Representative data are from three independent experiments: Student’s t test. c and d LPS inoculation in Muc2^−/− show reduced levels of apoptotic splenocytes. c Representative immunoblot from four independent experiments demonstrating that unlike Muc2^+/+, splenocytes from Muc2^−/− littermates undergo attenuated apoptosis (cleaved caspase-3) 24 h post LPS challenge (n = 5). Quantitative analysis represents values normalized to untreated group (paired Student’s t test). d Representative flow cytometry histogram and cumulative analysis of splenic CD3⁺ T-cells apoptosis showing significantly lower populations of Annexin-V-positive cells in Muc2^−/− as compared to Muc2^+/+ littermates 24 h post LPS (n = 10). Data are representative of three independent experiments, Student’s t test. e Reduced Tregs CD4 cell population in Muc2^−/− littermates following LPS challenge shows unregulated heightened immune response, whereas Th17 CD4 cell populations remains unchanged in both genotypes (n = 7). Data are representative of three independent experiments, Student’s t test. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, and ***p < 0.001.