When the Virus Leaves But the Lock Stays: Post-Viral Epigenetic Silencing in Gut Dysfunction and… — section

The colonocyte is not a passive absorptive cell. It is a metabolically extreme organism — uniquely dependent on a microbial metabolite (butyrate) as its primary oxidative fuel. This dependency is structurally encoded: the apical membrane of the mature colonocyte expresses SLC5A8 (Sodium-coupled Monocarboxylate Transporter 1), a sodium-coupled transporter that actively concentrates butyrate, propionate, pyruvate, and lactate from the colonic lumen into the cell interior.