PhD Scientific Days 2026

Health Sciences 1.

State-specific interaction networks between goblet cells and extracellular vesicles of Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron in Crohn's disease

Name of the presenter

Simon, Viktor

Institute/workplace of the presenter

Semmelweis University, Faculty of Health Sciences

Authors

Simon Viktor¹
1: Semmelweis University, Faculty of Health Sciences

Text of the abstract

Introduction: Damage to the intestinal barrier and thinning of the mucus layer play a key role in the pathogenesis of Crohn's disease. The function of goblet cells, which are responsible for mucus production, is significantly influenced by human-microbiota interactions. Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron, a known member of the human microbiota, influences the regulation of the mucus layer and intestinal barrier, in which bacterial extracellular vesicles play an important mediating role.
Aim: The aim of our study is to explore human-microbiota interactions related to B. thetaiotaomicron extracellular vesicles affecting goblet cells in healthy populations and in Crohn's disease, and to characterize these interactions in a condition-specific functional manner.
Methods: Differentially expressed genes were identified based on transcriptomic data. The microbial side was represented by the proteome associated with B. thetaiotaomicron extracellular vesicles. Bacteria-human protein-protein interactions were predicted using the MicrobioLink pipeline and then linked to human gene expression differences using a network-based approach. The affected networks were subjected to pathway enrichment analysis.
Results: We identified numerous human-microbiota protein-protein interactions in the goblet cells of Crohn's disease patients, which were primarily associated with inflammatory signaling pathways, NF-κB-related processes, and regulated cell death. In contrast, in healthy individuals, pathways related to the cell cycle, vesicular transport, and cellular homeostasis dominated.
Conclusions: Our results suggest that human-microbiota interactions associated with extracellular vesicles from B. thetaiotaomicron form state-specific functional networks in goblet cells. These findings may contribute to the molecular-level understanding of goblet cell dysfunction and intestinal barrier damage and may serve as a basis for further experimental studies.
Funding: The Ministry of Culture and Innovation’s University Research Scholarship Programme with code number 2025-2.1.1-EKÖP-2025-00014 was created with the support of the National Research, Development and Innovation Fund.