The colon mucosa is lined with crypts of circa 300 cells, forming a continuous barrier whose roles include absorption of water, recovery of metabolic energy sources (notably short chain fatty acids), secretion of a protective mucus barrier, and physiological signalling. There is high turnover and replenishment of cells in the mucosa, disruption of this may lead to bowel pathologies including cancer and inflammatory bowel disease. Keratins have been implicated in the processes of cell death, epithelial integrity, response to inflammation and as a result are often described as guardians of the colonic epithelium. Keratin proteins carry extensive post-translational modifications, the cofactors for kinases, acetyl transferases and other modification-regulating enzymes are themselves products of metabolism. A cluster of studies has begun to reveal a bidirectional relationship between keratin form and function and metabolism. In this paper we hypothesise a mechanistic interaction between keratins and metabolism is governed through regulation of post-translational modifications and may contribute significantly to the normal functioning of the colon, placing keratins at the centre of a nutrition-metabolism-health triangle.

结肠粘膜衬有大约 300 个细胞的隐窝，形成一个连续的屏障，其作用包括吸收水分、恢复代谢能源（特别是短链脂肪酸）、分泌保护性粘液屏障和生理信号。黏膜中细胞的周转率和补充率很高，破坏这种情况可能会导致肠道疾病，包括癌症和炎症性肠病。角蛋白与细胞死亡、上皮完整性、炎症反应的过程有关，因此经常被描述为结肠上皮的守护者。角蛋白具有广泛的翻译后修饰，激酶、乙酰转移酶和其他修饰调节酶的辅助因子本身就是代谢的产物。一系列研究已经开始揭示角蛋白形式与功能和代谢之间的双向关系。在本文中，我们假设角蛋白和代谢之间的机制相互作用是通过调节翻译后修饰来控制的，并且可能对结肠的正常功能有重大贡献，将角蛋白置于营养-代谢-健康三角形的中心。