Concurrently, the downregulation of tight junction proteins (ZO-1, occludin, claudin-1, and mucin1) indicates compromised intestinal barrier function, which can exacerbate systemic inflammation and predispose the host to infections by allowing increased translocation of pathogens or their components, such as LPS, into the bloodstream (Ghosh et al., 2020; Paradis et al., 2021). The gene discussed is CLDN1; the disease is infection.