MicroRNA-449a Overexpression, Reduced NOTCH1 Signals and Scarce Goblet Cells Characterize the Small Intestine of Celiac Patients
Figure 4
Decreased expression of MUC2 in small intestine of CD patients compared with controls.
Immunohistochemistry of goblet cells in small intestine. A. An example of staining for MUC-2 shows fewer MUC-2 stained cells in active and in GFD CD samples than in controls. (Original magnification 20×). B. MUC2 stained cells evaluated in CD patients (6 active CD and 6 GFD patients) and in controls (n = 4). Data are expressed as mean of the number of goblet cells/crypt measured in 10 crypts/children. Significantly fewer stained cells were detected in active and GFD CD samples than in controls (p = 0.04). These results indicate that MUC2 is less expressed in small intestine of active and GFD CD patients compared with controls. (CTRL: controls; GFD: gluten free diet; CD: celiac disease).