Thymosin β4 released by mast cells under stress conditions impairs intestinal epithelial barrier via IL22RA1/JAK1/STAT3 signaling in irritable bowel syndrome

Figure 6 Colonic mucus of irritable bowel syndrome patients impairs intestinal barrier integrity via Thymosin β4. Colonic mucus from healthy and irritable bowel syndrome individuals was transplanted into rats’ colon. A: Immunohistochemical images of zonulin 1 in wild-type (WT) and Tβ4^−/− rats; B: TEM images of colon. Magnification: 8000 ×, Scale bar, 2 μm. Magnification: 25000 ×, Scale bar, 500 nm; C: The immunohistochemistry staining of myosin light chain kinase. Scale bar, 50 μm; D: Representative FISH staining for bacterial infiltration using EUB338 probe (red) and DAPI (blue). Scale bar, 50 μm. Tβ4: Thymosin β4; WT: Wild-type; IBS: Irritable bowel syndrome.