RESUMO
BACKGROUND & AIMS: Liver tight junctions (TJs) establish tissue barriers that isolate bile from the blood circulation. TJP2/ZO-2-inactivating mutations cause progressive cholestatic liver disease in humans. Because the underlying mechanisms remain elusive, we characterized mice with liver-specific inactivation of Tjp2. METHODS: Tjp2 was deleted in hepatocytes, cholangiocytes, or both. Effects on the liver were assessed by biochemical analyses of plasma, liver, and bile and by electron microscopy, histology, and immunostaining. TJ barrier permeability was evaluated using fluorescein isothiocyanate-dextran (4 kDa). Cholic acid (CA) diet was used to assess susceptibility to liver injury. RESULTS: Liver-specific deletion of Tjp2 resulted in lower Cldn1 protein levels, minor changes to the TJ, dilated canaliculi, lower microvilli density, and aberrant radixin and bile salt export pump (BSEP) distribution, without an overt increase in TJ permeability. Hepatic Tjp2-defcient mice presented with mild progressive cholestasis with lower expression levels of bile acid transporter Abcb11/Bsep and detoxification enzyme Cyp2b10. A CA diet tolerated by control mice caused severe cholestasis and liver necrosis in Tjp2-deficient animals. 1,4-Bis[2-(3,5-dichloropyridyloxy)]benzene ameliorated CA-induced injury by enhancing Cyp2b10 expression, and ursodeoxycholic acid provided partial improvement. Inactivating Tjp2 separately in hepatocytes or cholangiocytes showed only mild CA-induced liver injury. CONCLUSION: Tjp2 is required for normal cortical distribution of radixin, canalicular volume regulation, and microvilli density. Its inactivation deregulated expression of Cldn1 and key bile acid transporters and detoxification enzymes. The mice provide a novel animal model for cholestatic liver disease caused by TJP2-inactivating mutations in humans.
Assuntos
Canalículos Biliares/metabolismo , Doença Hepática Induzida por Substâncias e Drogas/genética , Colestase/genética , Junções Íntimas/metabolismo , Proteína da Zônula de Oclusão-2/genética , Membro 11 da Subfamília B de Transportadores de Cassetes de Ligação de ATP/genética , Membro 11 da Subfamília B de Transportadores de Cassetes de Ligação de ATP/metabolismo , Animais , Hidrocarboneto de Aril Hidroxilases/metabolismo , Ácidos e Sais Biliares/metabolismo , Canalículos Biliares/patologia , Doença Hepática Induzida por Substâncias e Drogas/tratamento farmacológico , Colagogos e Coleréticos/uso terapêutico , Ácido Cólico , Claudina-1/metabolismo , Família 2 do Citocromo P450/metabolismo , Proteínas do Citoesqueleto/metabolismo , Células Epiteliais , Feminino , Fibrose , Predisposição Genética para Doença , Hepatócitos , Masculino , Proteínas de Membrana/metabolismo , Camundongos , Camundongos Knockout , Mutação , Oxazóis/uso terapêutico , Permeabilidade , Fatores de Proteção , RNA Mensageiro/metabolismo , Esteroide Hidroxilases/metabolismo , Junções Íntimas/ultraestrutura , Ácido Ursodesoxicólico/uso terapêutico , Proteína da Zônula de Oclusão-2/deficiênciaRESUMO
TJP2/ZO-2-inactivating mutations in humans cause progressive cholestatic liver disease. Liver-specific deletion of Tjp2 in the mouse (Tjp2 cKO mice) leads to mild progressive cholestasis without an overt degradation of the bile-blood barrier (BBB). These mice are more susceptible to cholic acid (CA) induced liver injury. Interestingly, while initially also more susceptible, Tjp2 cKO mice develop tolerance to a DDC-supplemented diet. The DDC diet induces an exacerbated ductular reaction in Tjp2 cKO mice, which arises from the transdifferentiation of hepatocytes to cholangiocytes. Consequently, this transdifferentiation is only observed if Tjp2 is inactivated in hepatocytes, but not if deleted in cholangiocytes. The DDC-diet-induced hepatocyte transdifferentiation in Tjp2 cKO mice requires Yap and Wwtr1/Taz, whose protein expression is upregulated in hepatocytes lacking Tjp2, but is independent of Notch2. Although inactivating Tjp2 is sufficient for the upregulation of Yap and Wwtr1/Taz protein, efficient transdifferentiation requires the DDC-diet insult. Thus, Tjp2 negatively regulates Yap/Taz-mediated transdifferentiation of hepatocytes to cholangiocytes in response to DDC-diet-induced liver injury. Furthermore, transdifferentiation is regulated at multiple levels and the type of injury inflicted on the Tjp2 deficient liver plays an important role in the resulting pathophysiology.