Inhibitory effects of intestinal mucus on bacterial adherence to cultured intestinal epithelial cells after surface burns

Objective To investigate the relationship between intestinal mucus IgA cont ent and mucus barrier function after surface bums. Methods Detection of IgA content in mucus was performed by enzyme linked im munosorbent assay (ELISA) at different time points after burns. Bacterial a dherence to cultured epithelial cells (IEC-6) in vitro using E. coli was as sessed for each group. Results The intestinal mucus barrier function declined, parallel to a decre ase in IgA content after surface burn in mice. In the normal control group, mucus IgA content was 2.32 D lambda, and 2.51, 1.76, 1.49, 1.06 D lambda a t 0.5 h, 1 h, 6 h and 24 h after burn, respectively. Bacterial adherence ra te was 0.53 in control group, and 0.46, 0.69, 0.58, 0.81 at 0.5 h, 1 h, 6 h , 24 h after burn, respectively. Conclusion The decrease of intestinal mucus IgA contents is one of the reas ons why intestinal mucus barrier function declines after burns.