Skin is a multifunctional organ that protects the body from temperature changes, pathogens, and physical and chemical threats such as UV light and dehydration. It consists of three layers, the epidermis, dermis and the innermost subcutaneous fat layer. In the dermis, fibroblasts produce collagen, elastin, and proteoglycans, which together form the extracellular matrix. This article focuses on versican, a major proteoglycan that interacts with many extracellular matrix components such as hyaluronan, collagen, and fibrillin microfibrils, and describes its role in the skin.

The degradation of mucin glycans by gut bacteria is closely associated with the onset and progression of intestinal diseases and is related to symbiotic intestinal colonization by the gut microbiota and mucosal homeostasis. Based on the analyses of enzymes derived from Bifidobacterium bifidum, a mucin O-glycan-utilizing bacterium, we elucidated the degradation pathways of the four major core structures of mucin O-glycans. β- N-Acetylglucosaminidases BbhI and BbhIV and a sulfoglycosidase BbhII act cooperatively to degrade the core structures into core 1 (T antigen) and/or Tn antigen. This mini-review describes the mechanisms by which B. bifidum and other gut microbes degrade the core structure of mucin O-glycans.

Skin is a multifunctional organ that protects the body from temperature changes, pathogens, and physical and chemical threats such as UV light and dehydration. It consists of three layers, the epidermis, dermis and the innermost subcutaneous fat layer. In the dermis, fibroblasts produce collagen, elastin, and proteoglycans, which together form the extracellular matrix. This article focuses on versican, a major proteoglycan that interacts with many extracellular matrix components such as hyaluronan, collagen, and fibrillin microfibrils, and describes its role in the skin.

The degradation of mucin glycans by gut bacteria is closely associated with the onset and progression of intestinal diseases and is related to symbiotic intestinal colonization by the gut microbiota and mucosal homeostasis. Based on the analyses of enzymes derived from Bifidobacterium bifidum, a mucin O-glycan-utilizing bacterium, we elucidated the degradation pathways of the four major core structures of mucin O-glycans. β- N-Acetylglucosaminidases BbhI and BbhIV and a sulfoglycosidase BbhII act cooperatively to degrade the core structures into core 1 (T antigen) and/or Tn antigen. This mini-review describes the mechanisms by which B. bifidum and other gut microbes degrade the core structure of mucin O-glycans.