Fig. 2

DSG2-deficient animals (DSG2^ΔIEC) display an altered desmosomal protein composition, a wider desmosomal space width and increased intestinal permeability. a The distribution of Dsc2, plakoglobin (PG) and Dsg2 in the colon of DSG2^ΔIEC (ΔIEC) and DSG2^fl/fl (fl/fl) mice was visualized by immunofluorescence. Scale bar = 20 μm. b Hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining revealed an unperturbed overall colon architecture. c Desmosomal ultrastructure of colon samples was assessed by electron microscopy with subsequent quantification of the desmosomal intercellular space (IS) width and length of the desmosomal plaque (n = 5). Scale bar = 200 nm. AJ, adherens junctions; De, desmosomes; TJ, tight junctions d, e Immunoblotting and RT-PCR were employed to study the impact of Dsg2 loss on desmosomal composition in the colon (n = 5). Dsc2, desmocollin 2; Dsp, desmoplakin; Pkp2, plakophilin 2; K8, keratin 8. f Administration of 4kD FITC-dextran with subsequent quantification of serum FITC levels was utilized as a measurement of intestinal permeability (n = 5). Average mRNA expression in DSG2^fl/fl mice was arbitrarily set as 1 and levels in DSG2^ΔIEC mice are presented as ratio. L7 (mouse ribosomal protein) gene and β-tubulin (βTub) were used as an internal and a loading control, respectively. Data in c, f are shown as dot plots. Two-tailed Student’s t test was used for statistical analyses. *p < 0.05