MUC2 and Diarrhea: For example, zinc can suppress expression of not only such host genes as the CFTR chloride channel that is responsible for secretory diarrhea with cholera and the muc-2 gene, but also microbial genes such as the aggR-regulated virulence gene expression in enteroaggregative E. coli (EAEC) in vitro or in vivo [33], and homologous genes have been reported in several other enteric bacterial pathogens like Vibrio cholerae, Shigella and Citrobacter, and possibly Campylobacter [49, 50].