scholarly journals Intestinal Epithelial Cells as a Source of Inflammatory Cytokines and Chemokines

2002 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 241-246 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew W Stadnyk

The intestinal epithelium has long been known to provide nonspecific defences such as mucus, lysozyme and transport of secretory immunoglobulin via the polyimmunoglobulin receptor. In the past decade, the realization emerged that enterocytes secrete molecules (cytokines) that regulate inflammation. As the focus tightened on this new role as sentinel, so has the interest in enterocyte production of cytokines with chemoattractant properties for leukocytes – the chemokines. Neutrophils are a prominent feature of the cellular infiltrate in various inflammatory diseases, and early reports indicated that epithelial cells secrete neutrophil chemoattractants. More recently, it has been shown that the cells also secrete chemokines for monocytes and lymphocytes. Some of these chemokines appear to be important in the uninflamed intestine but become increased during disease. While a great deal of knowledge has been gained regarding the circumstances leading to chemokine production by epithelial cells, the application of this understanding to the treatment of human intestinal diseases is lacking. Closing this gap is necessary to take advantage of emerging therapies aimed at blocking chemokine function.

2012 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 603-608 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yujun Jiang ◽  
Xuena Lü ◽  
Chaoxin Man ◽  
Linlin Han ◽  
Yi Shan ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTIntestinal epithelial cells can respond to certain bacteria by producing an array of cytokines and chemokines which are associated with host immune responses.Lactobacillus acidophilusNCFM is a characterized probiotic, originally isolated from human feces. This study aimed to test the ability ofL. acidophilusNCFM to stimulate cytokine and chemokine production in intestinal epithelial cells and to elucidate the mechanisms involved in their upregulation. In experiments using intestinal epithelial cell lines and mouse models, we observed thatL. acidophilusNCFM could rapidly but transiently upregulate a number of effector genes encoding cytokines and chemokines such as interleukin 1α (IL-1α), IL-1β, CCL2, and CCL20 and that cytokines showed lower expression levels withL. acidophilusNCFM treatment than chemokines. Moreover,L. acidophilusNCFM could activate a pathogen-associated molecular pattern receptor, Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2), in intestinal epithelial cell lines. The phosphorylation of NF-κB p65 and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) in intestinal epithelial cell lines was also enhanced byL. acidophilusNCFM. Furthermore, inhibitors of NF-κB (pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate [PDTC]) and p38 MAPK (SB203580) significantly reduced cytokine and chemokine production in the intestinal epithelial cell lines stimulated byL. acidophilusNCFM, suggesting that both NF-κB and p38 MAPK signaling pathways were important for the production of cytokines and chemokines induced byL. acidophilusNCFM.


2007 ◽  
Vol 70 (1) ◽  
pp. 125-134 ◽  
Author(s):  
MARÍA G. VIZOSO PINTO ◽  
TOBIAS SCHUSTER ◽  
KARLIS BRIVIBA ◽  
BERNHARD WATZL ◽  
WILHELM H. HOLZAPFEL ◽  
...  

Five Lactobacillus plantarum strains and two Lactobacillus johnsonii strains, stemming either from African traditionally fermented milk products or children's feces, were investigated for probiotic properties in vitro. The relationship between the hydrophobic-hydrophilic cell surface and adhesion ability to HT29 intestinal epithelial cells was investigated, and results indicated that especially the L. johnsonii strains, which exhibited both hydrophobic and hydrophilic surface characteristics, adhered well to HT29 cells. Four L. plantarum and two L. johnsonii strains showed high adherence to HT29 cells, generally higher than that of the probiotic control strain Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG. Most strains with high adhesion ability also showed high autoaggregation ability. The two L. johnsonii strains coaggregated well with the intestinal pathogens Listeria monocytogenes Scott A, Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923, Escherichia coli ATCC 25922, and Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium ATCC 14028. The L. plantarum BFE 1685 and L. johnsonii 6128 strains furthermore inhibited the adhesion of at least two of these intestinal pathogens in coculture with HT29 cells in a strain-dependent way. These two potential probiotic strains also significantly increased interleukin-8 (IL-8) chemokine production by HT29 cells, although modulation of other cytokines, such as IL-1, IL-6, IL-10, monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), and transforming growth factor β (TGF-β), did not occur. Altogether, our results suggested that L. plantarum BFE 1685 and L. johnsonii BFE 6128 showed good adherence, coaggregated with pathogens, and stimulated chemokine production of intestinal epithelial cells, traits that may be considered promising for their development as probiotic strains.


2010 ◽  
Vol 299 (3) ◽  
pp. G733-G741 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sabine M. Ivison ◽  
Ce Wang ◽  
Megan E. Himmel ◽  
Jared Sheridan ◽  
Jonathan Delano ◽  
...  

Intestinal epithelial cells act as innate immune sentinels, as the first cells that encounter diarrheal pathogens. They use pattern recognition molecules such as the Toll-like receptors (TLRs) to identify molecular signals found on microbes but not host cells or food components. TLRs cannot generally distinguish the molecular signals on pathogenic bacteria from those found in commensals, yet under healthy conditions epithelial immune responses are kept in check. We hypothesized that, in the setting of tissue damage or stress, intestinal epithelial cells would upregulate their responses to TLR ligands to reflect the greater need for immediate protection against pathogens. We treated Caco-2 cells with the TLR5 agonist flagellin in the presence or absence of H2O2 and measured chemokine production and intracellular signaling pathways. H2O2 increased flagellin-induced IL-8 (CXCL8) production in a dose-dependent manner. This was associated with synergistic phosphorylation of p38 MAP kinase and with prolonged I-κB degradation and NF-κB activation. The H2O2-mediated potentiation of IL-8 production required the activity of p38, tyrosine kinases, phospholipase Cγ, and intracellular calcium, but not protein kinase C or protein kinase D. H2O2 prolonged and augmented NF-κB activation by flagellin. In contrast to IL-8, CCL20 (MIP3α) production by flagellin was reduced by H2O2, and this effect was not calcium dependent. Oxidative stress biases intestinal epithelial responses to flagellin, leading to increased production of IL-8 and decreased production of CCL20. This suggests that epithelial cells are capable of sensing the extracellular environment and adjusting their antimicrobial responses accordingly.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joshua Oluoch Amimo ◽  
Sergei Alekseevich Raev ◽  
Juliet Chepngeno ◽  
Alfred Omwando Mainga ◽  
Yusheng Guo ◽  
...  

Rotavirus (RV) is the foremost enteric pathogen associated with severe diarrheal illness in young children (<5years) and animals worldwide. RV primarily infects mature enterocytes in the intestinal epithelium causing villus atrophy, enhanced epithelial cell turnover and apoptosis. Intestinal epithelial cells (IECs) being the first physical barrier against RV infection employs a range of innate immune strategies to counteract RVs invasion, including mucus production, toll-like receptor signaling and cytokine/chemokine production. Conversely, RVs have evolved numerous mechanisms to escape/subvert host immunity, seizing translation machinery of the host for effective replication and transmission. RV cell entry process involve penetration through the outer mucus layer, interaction with cell surface molecules and intestinal microbiota before reaching the IECs. For successful cell attachment and entry, RVs use sialic acid, histo-blood group antigens, heat shock cognate protein 70 and cell-surface integrins as attachment factors and/or (co)-receptors. In this review, a comprehensive summary of the existing knowledge of mechanisms underlying RV-IECs interactions, including the role of gut microbiota, during RV infection is presented. Understanding these mechanisms is imperative for developing efficacious strategies to control RV infections, including development of antiviral therapies and vaccines that target specific immune system antagonists within IECs.


2009 ◽  
Vol 2009 ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fu-Chen Huang

FollowingSalmonellainvasion, intestinal epithelial cells release a distinct array of proinflammatory cytokines. Interleukin (IL)-6 produced by enterocytes may have anti-inflammatory and cell-protective effects, and may counteract some of the injurious effects of sepsis and endotoxemia. Recent studies in a variety of rodent models of experimental colitis by using PJ-34, a potent poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase-1 (PARP-1) inhibitor, support the concept that the marked beneficial effect of PJ-34 can be exploited to treat human inflammatory diseases. The present study was to investigate the effect of PJ-34 onSalmonella-induced enterocyte IL-6 production and its mechanisms. We found that PJ-34 enhanced Salmonella-induced IL-6 production in Caco-2 cells, either secreted protein or mRNA expression. PJ-34 treatment enhanced the activity of NF-κB inSalmonella-infected Caco-2 cells. Besides, the involvement of PJ-34 in up-regulating IL-6 production in S. typhimurium-infected Caco-2 cells might be also through the ERK but not p38 MAPK, JNK or PI3K/Akt pathways, as demonstrated by Western blot of phosphorylated ERK, p38, JNK and Akt proteins. It suggests that PJ-34 may exert its protective effect on intestinal epithelial cells against invasive Salmonella infection by up-regulating IL-6 production through ERK and NF-κB but not P38 MAPK, JNK or PI3K/Akt signal pathways.


2010 ◽  
Vol 299 (3) ◽  
pp. G687-G696 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guillaume Dalmasso ◽  
Hang Thi Thu Nguyen ◽  
Laetitia Charrier-Hisamuddin ◽  
Yutao Yan ◽  
Hamed Laroui ◽  
...  

PepT1 is a di/tripeptide transporter highly expressed in the small intestine, but poorly or not expressed in the colon. However, during chronic inflammation, such as inflammatory bowel disease, PepT1 expression is induced in the colon. Commensal bacteria that colonize the human colon produce a large amount of di/tripeptides. To date, two bacterial peptides ( N-formylmethionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine and muramyl dipeptide) have been identified as substrates of PepT1. We hypothesized that the proinflammatory tripeptide l-Ala-γ-d-Glu- meso-DAP (Tri-DAP), a breakdown product of bacterial peptidoglycan, is transported into intestinal epithelial cells via PepT1. We found that uptake of glycine-sarcosine, a specific substrate of PepT1, in intestinal epithelial Caco2-BBE cells was inhibited by Tri-DAP in a dose-dependent manner. Tri-DAP induced activation of NF-κB and MAP kinases, consequently leading to production of the proinflammatory cytokine interleukin-8. Tri-DAP-induced inflammatory response in Caco2-BBE cells was significantly suppressed by silencing of PepT1 expression by using PepT1-shRNAs in a tetracycline-regulated expression ( Tet-off) system. Colonic epithelial HT29-Cl.19A cells, which do not express PepT1 under basal condition, were mostly insensitive to Tri-DAP-induced inflammation. However, HT29-Cl.19A cells exhibited proinflammatory response to Tri-DAP upon stable transfection with a plasmid encoding PepT1. Accordingly, Tri-DAP significantly increased keratinocyte-derived chemokine production in colonic tissues from transgenic mice expressing PepT1 in intestinal epithelial cells. Finally, Tri-DAP induced a significant drop in intracellular pH in intestinal epithelial cells expressing PepT1, but not in cells that did not express PepT1. Our data collectively support the classification of Tri-DAP as a novel substrate of PepT1. Given that PepT1 is highly expressed in the colon during inflammation, PepT1-mediated Tri-DAP transport may occur more effectively during such conditions, further contributing to intestinal inflammation.


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