Neutrophil Extracellular Trap Density Increases With Increasing Histopathological Severity of Crohn's Disease.

BACKGROUND: Intestinal neutrophil recruitment is a characteristic feature of the earliest stages of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Neutrophil elastase (NE) and myeloperoxidase (MPO) mediate the formation of neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs); NETs produce the bactericidal oxidant hypochlorous acid (HOCl), causing host tissue damage when unregulated. The project aim was to investigate the relationship between NET formation and clinical IBD in humans. METHODS: Human intestinal biopsies were collected from Crohn's disease (CD) patients, endoscopically categorized as unaffected, transitional, or diseased, and assigned a histopathological score. RESULTS: A significant linear correlation was identified between pathological score and cell viability (TUNEL+). Immunohistochemical analysis revealed the presence of NET markers NE, MPO, and citrullinated histone (CitH3) that increased significantly with increasing histopathological score. Diseased specimens showed greater MPO+-immunostaining than control (P < .0001) and unaffected CD (P < .0001), with transitional CD specimens also showing greater staining than controls (P < .05) and unaffected CD (P < .05). Similarly, NE+-immunostaining was elevated significantly in diseased CD than controls (P < .0001) and unaffected CD (P < .0001) and was significantly higher in transitional CD than in controls (P < .0001) and unaffected CD (P < .0001). The CitH3+-immunostaining of diseased CD was significantly higher than controls (P < .05), unaffected CD (P < .0001) and transitional CD (P < .05), with transitional CD specimens showing greater staining than unaffected CD (P < .01). Multiplex immunohistochemistry with z-stacking revealed colocalization of NE, MPO, CitH3, and DAPI (cell nuclei), confirming the NET assignment. CONCLUSION: These data indicate an association between increased NET formation and CD severity, potentially due to excessive MPO-mediated HOCl production in the extracellular domain, causing host tissue damage that exacerbates CD.

Our data show for the first time that the density of neutrophil extracellular trap formed in the bowel of Crohn's disease patients increases with increasing disease severity, suggesting that myeloperoxidase-mediated host-tissue damage may play a role in disease pathogenesis.

An in situ analysis pipeline for initial host-pathogen interactions reveals signatures of human colorectal HIV transmission.

The initial immune response to HIV determines transmission. However, due to technical limitations we still do not have a comparative map of early mucosal transmission events. By combining RNAscope, cyclic immunofluorescence, and image analysis tools, we quantify HIV transmission signatures in intact human colorectal explants within 2 h of topical exposure. We map HIV enrichment to mucosal dendritic cells (DCs) and submucosal macrophages, but not CD4+ T cells, the primary targets of downstream infection. HIV+ DCs accumulate near and within lymphoid aggregates, which act as early sanctuaries of high viral titers while facilitating HIV passage to the submucosa. Finally, HIV entry induces recruitment and clustering of target cells, facilitating DC- and macrophage-mediated HIV transfer and enhanced infection of CD4+ T cells. These data demonstrate a rapid response to HIV structured to maximize the likelihood of mucosal infection and provide a framework for in situ studies of host-pathogen interactions and immune-mediated pathologies.

Metabolite profiling of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) using 1H NMR spectroscopy as a tool to detect potential unintended effects following a genetic modification.

The maize transcription factors LC and C1 were simultaneously overexpressed in tomato with the aim of producing lines with increased amounts of flavonols. The metabolite composition of these genetically modified tomatoes has been compared with that of azygous (nonmodified) controls grown side-by-side under the same conditions. It has been possible to observe metabolic changes in both types at different stages of maturity. (1)H NMR spectra showed that the levels of glutamic acid, fructose, and some nucleosides and nucleotides gradually increase from the immature to the ripe stage, whereas some amino acids such as valine and gamma-aminobutyric acid were present in higher amounts in unripe tomatoes. Apart from the significantly increased content of six main flavonoid glycosides (mainly kaempferol-3-O-rutinoside, with additional increases in kaempferol-3,7-di-O-glucoside (1), kaempferol-3-O-rutinoside-7-O-glucoside (2), kaempferol-3-O-glucoside, a dihydrokaempferol-O-hexoside (3), and naringenin-7-O-glucoside), the levels of at least 15 other metabolites were found to be different between the two types of red tomato. Among them were citric acid, sucrose, phenylalanine, and trigonelline. However, although statistically significant, these changes in mean values were relatively minor (less than 3-fold) and within the natural variation that would be observed in a field-grown crop. Nevertheless, this study clearly showed that NMR combined with chemometrics and univariate statistics can successfully trace even small differences in metabolite levels between plants and therefore represents a powerful tool to detect potential unintended effects in genetically modified crops.

Characterization and content of flavonoid glycosides in genetically modified tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) fruits.

There is a growing interest in producing food plants with increased amounts of flavonoids because of their potential health benefits. Tomatoes contain small amounts of flavonoids, most of which are located in the peel of the fruit. It has been shown that flavonoid accumulation in tomato flesh, and hence an overall increase in flavonoid levels in tomato fruit, can be achieved by means of simultaneous overexpression of the maize transcription factors LC and C1. Fruit from progeny of two modified lines (2027 and 2059) was selected for a detailed analysis and individual identification of flavonoids, at different stages of maturity. Nine major flavonoids were detected in the flesh of transgenic ripe tomatoes. LC/NMR, LC/MS, and LC/MS/MS enabled us to identify these as kaempferol-3,7-di-O-glucoside (1), kaempferol-3-O-rutinoside-7-O-glucoside (2), two dihydrokaempferol-O-hexosides (3 and 4), rutin (5), kaempferol-3-O-rutinoside (6), kaempferol-3-O-glucoside (7), naringenin-7-O-glucoside (8) and naringenin chalcone (9), which were quantified by HPLC/DAD. All but 5, 6, and 9 were detected in tomato for the first time. The total flavonoid glycoside content of ripe transgenic tomatoes of line 2059 was about 10-fold higher than that of the controls, and kaempferol glycosides accounted for 60% of this. Kaempferol glycosides comprised around 5% of the flavonoid glycoside content of ripe control tomatoes (the rest was rutin and naringenin chalcone). The rutin concentration in both transgenic and control fruits was similar.

Effect of diets fortified with tomatoes or onions with variable quercetin-glycoside content on azoxymethane-induced aberrant crypt foci in the colon of rats.

BACKGROUND: Onion and tomato are vegetables widely consumed by humans and epidemiological studies show an inverse association between vegetable consumption and colon cancer risk; however, the effect on colon cancer of diets containing high levels of vegetables like onion and tomato are not clear. AIMS OF THE STUDY: To investigate whether tomatoes and onions,with low or high quercetin-glycoside content, could reduce azoxymethane (AOM)-induced Aberrant Crypt Foci (ACF), preneoplastic lesions in the colon of rats. METHODS: Male Fisher 344 rats were fed the following diets: a) high fat (HF) diet (control diet); b) HF diet containing 20 % (w/w) tomatoes with a low quercetin-glycoside content (final concentration in the diet: 5 mg/kg of quercetin aglycone equivalents); c) HF diet containing 20% (w/w) high quercetin-glycoside tomatoes (100 mg/kg final concentration of quercetin aglycone equivalents); d) HF diet containing 20 % (w/w) low quercetin-glycoside onions (14 mg/kg of quercetin aglycone equivalents in the diet); e) HF diet containing 20 % (w/w) high quercetin-glycoside onions (360 mg/kg quercetin aglycone equivalents in the diet). After 2 wks of feeding, all rats were treated twice, 1 wk apart, with AOM (12 mg/kg, s. c.). The dietary treatments continued until sacrifice, 7 wks after the first injection with AOM. RESULTS: ACF induction did not vary in animals fed low or high quercetin-glycoside tomatoes relative to controls. On the contrary, rats fed 20% (w/w) onion-based diets, with low or high quercetin-glycoside content, showed an increase in number, multiplicity and "large" ACF compared to the control group (number of ACF/colon 145 +/- 15 (SE), 255 +/- 11 and 218 +/- 16 in controls, low and high-quercetin-glycoside groups, respectively; p < 0.01). Proliferative activity of the colon did not vary between animals fed control and high quercetin-glycoside tomato diet. The height of the crypts in normal mucosa of rats fed high quercetinglycoside onions was significantly increased compared to control rats (cells/emicrypt 38.4 +/- 1.2 (SE) and 41.3 +/- 0.6 in controls and high quercetin-glycoside onions group, p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: None of the diets supplemented with onion or tomato with variable quercetin-glycoside content demonstrated a potential chemopreventive effect on ACF-induction by AOM in rats.

High-flavonol tomatoes resulting from the heterologous expression of the maize transcription factor genes LC and C1.

Flavonoids are a group of polyphenolic plant secondary metabolites important for plant biology and human nutrition. In particular flavonols are potent antioxidants, and their dietary intake is correlated with a reduced risk of cardiovascular diseases. Tomato fruit contain only in their peel small amounts of flavonoids, mainly naringenin chalcone and the flavonol rutin, a quercetin glycoside. To increase flavonoid levels in tomato, we expressed the maize transcription factor genes LC and C1 in the fruit of genetically modified tomato plants. Expression of both genes was required and sufficient to upregulate the flavonoid pathway in tomato fruit flesh, a tissue that normally does not produce any flavonoids. These fruit accumulated high levels of the flavonol kaempferol and, to a lesser extent, the flavanone naringenin in their flesh. All flavonoids detected were present as glycosides. Anthocyanins, previously reported to accumulate upon LC expression in several plant species, were present in LC/C1 tomato leaves but could not be detected in ripe LC/C1 fruit. RNA expression analysis of ripening fruit revealed that, with the exception of chalcone isomerase, all of the structural genes required for the production of kaempferol-type flavonols and pelargonidin-type anthocyanins were induced strongly by the LC/C1 transcription factors. Expression of the genes encoding flavanone-3'-hydroxylase and flavanone-3'5'-hydroxylase, which are required for the modification of B-ring hydroxylation patterns, was not affected by LC/C1. Comparison of flavonoid profiles and gene expression data between tomato leaves and fruit indicates that the absence of anthocyanins in LC/C1 fruit is attributable primarily to an insufficient expression of the gene encoding flavanone-3'5'-hydroxylase, in combination with a strong preference of the tomato dihydroflavonol reductase enzyme to use the flavanone-3'5'-hydroxylase reaction product dihydromyricetin as a substrate.