ReviewGut2020
Mucus barrier, mucins and gut microbiota: the expected slimy partners?
Review in Gut, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 826 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
826 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 1,478 citations in OpenAlex.
- The role of natural products in the intestinal barrier: a bibliometric analysis from 2004 to 2025.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Pooled it
- Impact of microplastics on the human gut microbiome: a systematic review of microbial composition, diversity, and metabolic disruptions.BMC gastroenterology · 2025Pooled it
- Sialidase inhibitor modulates gut microbiota and enhances mucosal protection in the treatment of ulcerative colitis.mSystems · 2026Trial
- The protective effect of probiotics on intestinal mucosal injury and dysbiosis in infants with congenital heart disease undergoing cardiopulmonary bypass.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Trial
- The Effects of a Prebiotic Formula PromotingInternational journal of medical sciences · 2026Trial
- High-dose multi-strain Bacillus probiotics enhance treatment and reduce antibiotic usage in children with persistent diarrhea through immune and microbiota modulation.Scientific reports · 2025Trial
- Muribaculum as a microbial contributor of rifaximin-induced mucosal protection during chemotherapy.Gut microbes · 2026Article
- The protease code of the bacterial gut microbiota: ecological regulation, barrier disruption, and rewiring host defense and signaling.Gut microbes · 2026Review
- Article
- The duodenal microbiota is compartmentalized and clinically stable yet rapidly responsive to nutrient exposure.Gut microbes · 2026Article
- Bacterial constipation: Mucin-degrading intestinal commensal bacteria cause constipation.Gut microbes · 2026Article
- Discovery of a secretedGut microbes · 2026Article
- Dysregulated eating behaviour and microbiota-based interventions targeting eating disorders and food addiction.Gut microbes · 2026Review
- Strategies for modelling the intestinal mucus interface: Focus on drug transport and host-microbiota interactions.International journal of pharmaceutics: X · 2026Review
- Article
- Protective Effects of Lactobacillus-Derived Probiotics and Postbiotics on Renal and Reproductive Function in Escherichia coli-Infected Rats.Veterinary medicine and science · 2026Article
- Diet-Microbiome-Immune Interactions at the Gut Mucosa in Food Allergy: Mechanisms, Gaps, and Therapeutic Implications.Allergy · 2026Review
- Docosahexaenoic acid alleviates DSS-induced colitis by regulating the gut microbiota and restoring the gut barrier.International microbiology : the official journal of the Spanish Society for Microbiology · 2026Article
- Human inflammatory bowel disease-on-a-chip for modelling disease progression, cancer initiation and sex-specific effects.Nature biomedical engineering · 2026Article
- The SLC-ome of membrane transport: from molecular discovery to physiology and clinical applications.Physiological reviews · 2026Review
766 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issuedCorrection:2023
Authors and funding
2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The gastrointestinal tract is often considered as a key organ involved in the digestion of food and providing nutrients to the body for proper maintenance. However, this system is composed of organs that are extremely complex. Among the different parts, the intestine is viewed as an incredible surface of contact with the environment and is colonised by hundreds of trillions of gut microbes. The role of the gut barrier has been studied for decades, but the exact mechanisms involved in the protection of the gut barrier are various and complementary. Among them, the integrity of the mucus barrier is one of the first lines of protection of the gastrointestinal tract. In the past, this 'slimy' partner was mostly considered a simple lubricant for facilitating the progression of the food bolus and the stools in the gut. Since then, different researchers have made important progress, and currently, the regulation of this mucus barrier is gaining increasing attention from the scientific community. Among the factors influencing the mucus barrier, the microbiome plays a major role in driving mucus changes. Additionally, our dietary habits (ie, high-fat diet, low-fibre/high-fibre diet, food additives, pre- probiotics) influence the mucus at different levels. Given that the mucus layer has been linked with the appearance of diseases, proper knowledge is highly warranted. Here, we debate different aspects of the mucus layer by focusing on its chemical composition, regulation of synthesis and degradation by the microbiota as well as some characteristics of the mucus layer in both physiological and pathological situations.
Indexed as
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.