Project description:The identification of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) susceptibility genes by genome-wide association has linked this pathology to autophagy, a lysosomal degradation pathway that is crucial for cell and tissue homeostasis. Here, we describe autophagin-1 (ATG4B) as an essential protein in the control of inflammatory response during experimental colitis. In this pathological condition, ATG4B protein levels increase paralleling the induction of autophagy. Moreover, ATG4B expression is significantly reduced in affected areas of the colon from IBD patients. Consistently, atg4b-/- mice present Paneth cell abnormalities, as well as an increased susceptibility to DSS-induced colitis. Atg4b-deficient mice exhibit significant alterations in proinflammatory cytokines and mediators of the immune response to bacterial infections, which are reminiscent of those found in patients with Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis. Additionally, antibiotic treatments and bone marrow transplantation from wild-type mice reduced colitis in atg4b-/- mice. Taken together, these results provide additional evidence on the importance of autophagy in intestinal pathologies and describe ATG4B as a novel protective protein in inflammatory colitis. Finally, we propose that Atg4b-null mice are a suitable model for in vivo studies aimed at testing new therapeutic strategies for intestinal diseases associated with autophagy deficiency Seven samples were collected in total: three from wild-type mice (1 from the ileum and the colon of control mice, and 1 from the colon of a DSS-treated mouse) and four from Atg4b knock-out mice (1 from the ileum and the colon of control mice, and 2 from the colon of DSS-treated mice).
Project description:B cells expand during the recovery after DSS-induced colonic inflammation and might play a role in influencing tissue repair. To analyze the impact B cells might have on intestinal epithelial cells and stromal cells during recovery after intestinal injury the transcriptional profile of these mice was analysed in mice depleted of B cells and control mice on day 14 after DSS colitis.
Project description:We compared the transcriptional signatures of the colonic mucosa from control mice (WT) versus mice deficient for the epithelial pantetheinase Vnn1 (Vnn1KO) or overexpressing Vnn1 specifically in intestinal epithelial cells (VIVA transgenic mice), during the development of DSS-induced colitis.
Project description:Intestinal tissue samples from dextran sodium sulfate-induced colitis mice were analyzed on their transcriptomic changes using RNA-seq to elucidate the effects of extracellular vesicles pretreatment on the colitis-associated gene expressions.
Project description:Primary cilia (PC) are important signaling hubs in cells and we explored their role in colorectal cancer (CRC) and colitis. In the colon we found PC to be mostly present on different subtypes of fibroblasts and exposure of mice to either chemically induced colitis-associated colon carcinogenesis (CAC) or dextran sodium sulfate (DSS)-induced acute colitis decreased PC numbers. We employed conditional knock-out strains for the PC essential genes, Kif3A and Ift88, to generate mice with reduced numbers of PC on colonic fibroblasts. These mice showed an increased susceptibility in the CAC model as well as in DSS-induced colitis. Secretome and immunohistochemical analyses of DSS-treated mice displayed an elevated production of the pro-inflammatory cytokine IL-6 in PC-deficient colons. An inflammatory environment diminished PC presence in primary fibroblast cultures. This was triggered by IL-6 as identified by RNAseq analysis together with blocking experiments, suggesting an activation loop between IL-6 production and PC loss. Notably, an analysis of PC presence on biopsies of patients with ulcerative colitis as well as CRC patients revealed decreased numbers of PC on colonic fibroblasts in pathological versus surrounding normal tissue. Taken together, we provide evidence that a decrease in colonic PC numbers promotes colitis and CRC.
Project description:Intestinal epithelia are protected by a layer of mucin secreted by goblet cells against mechanical and chemical injuries, potent causes of inflammation, and the most abundant secreted intestinal mucin is encoded by the Muc2 gene. Genetic deletion of Muc2 causes intestinal inflammation in early stage and tumors after 3 months. The underlying mechanisms are not clear, but epigenetic alterations, particularly, up- and down-regulated microRNAs are involved in the malignant transformation from colitis to cancer. We used miRNA array to profile the differential expression of the miRNAs in Muc2-/- mouse colonic epithelial lin comparison with those in wild-type mice. Total RNA were extracted from mouse colonic epithelial cells and Muc2-/- and +/+, and the RNA were hybridized on Affymetrix miRNA microarray to determine the alterations of miRNAs during colitis development and its malignant transformation from colitis to cancer. To the end, we found miRNA were differential expressed in the Muc2-/- mice, among them 20 miRNAs were significantly downregulated and 71 miRNAs were significantly upregulated in Muc2-/- mice, in comparison with Muc2+/+ mice (change fold >2 or <0.5; T<0.01, p value< 0.05, q value< 0.05).
Project description:Small intestinal group 3 innate lymphoid cells (ILC3) from ILC3-conditional BMAL1 knock out mice or littermate control mice were sort-purified for transcriptional analysis
Project description:To determine how deficiency of Efhd2 in intestinal epithelial cells aggravates DSS-induced colitis in mice, we performed a transcriptional analysis.
Project description:Background and Objectives: Antibiotic (ABx) therapy is associated with an increased risk for Crohn´s Disease but the underlying mechanisms are unknown. We observed high fecal serine protease activity (PA) to be a frequent side effect of ABx therapy in patients. The aim of the present study was to unravel whether this rise in PA may promote colitis development via detrimental effects on the large intestinal barrier. Design: Transwell experiments were used to assess the impact of high PA in ABx-treated patients or vancomycin/metronidazole (V/M)-treated mice on the epithelial barrier. Serine protease profiling was performed using LC-MS/MS analysis. The impact of high PA on the intestinal barrier in WT/IL10-/- mice and on colitis development in IL10-/- mice was investigated using V/M+/-oral serine protease inhibitor (AEBSF) treatment. Results: The ABx-induced high PA was found to be due to significantly increased levels of pancreatic proteases and to impair the epithelial barrier. In WT mice, the rise in PA caused a transient increase in intestinal permeability but did not affect susceptibility towards DSS-induced acute colitis. In IL10-/- mice, the rise in PA caused a lasting impairment of the intestinal barrier, which was associated with inflammatory activation of the large intestinal tissue. In the long term, the lasting increase in PA upon repeated V/M treatment aggravated colitis development in IL10-/-mice. Conclusion: High PA is a frequent adverse effect of ABx therapy which is detrimental to the large intestinal barrier and may contribute to the development of chronic inflammation in genetically susceptible individuals.
Project description:The goal of this project is to find out whether human intestinal IgA1 and IgA2 secretion, transport and reactivity towards the microbiota might be involved in dysbiosis induction during Crohn’s disease and Ulcerative colitis. Mass spectrometry was used to characterize SIgA from Crohn’s disease patient and Ulcerative colitis patient, in term of O- and N-glycosylation in order to study their reverse transcytosis capacity and their role in intestinal inflammation.