Impairment of the intestinal epithelium barrier through alteration of proliferation and differentiation balance in alcohol use disorder

Figure 6 Wnt non-canonical pathways are not involved in hyperproliferation of the crypts in alcohol use disorder. A: Schematic representation of the non-canonical Wnt/PCP pathway. Binding of Wnt ligands to frizzled receptors leads to downstream c-Jun phosphorylation and gene transactivation; B: Immunohistofluorescence showing phospho-c-Jun (Ser63) (red) localized at the villus tip. Quantification of pc-Jun (Ser63)⁺ cells normalized to total villus cells indicating increased phospho c-Jun expression in alcohol use disorder patients; C: Schematic of the Wnt/Ca²⁺ pathway, in which activation triggers NFAT dephosphorylation and nuclear translocation. Immunostaining of NFATC1+ (red) shows co-localization with Paneth cells (purple) stained by lysozyme within the epithelium marked by E-cadherin (green). Scale bar (200 μm). Healthy (n = 5); alcohol use disorder (n = 12). AUD: Alcohol use disorder; LYZ: Lysozyme.