MUC2 and colitis: In this respect, it was reported that MUC2 gene-knockout animals developed spontaneous colitis five weeks postnatally and exhibited increased susceptibility to DSS-induced colitis, likely due to the absence of MUC2, which impairs the ability to prevent gut microbiota invasion, resulting in direct contact with epithelial cells and the initiation of colitis (Van der Sluis et al., 2006).