Proenkephalin deletion in hematopoietic cells induces intestinal barrier failure resulting in clinical feature similarities with irritable bowel syndrome in mice.
Commun Biol
; 6(1): 1168, 2023 11 16.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-37968381
ABSTRACT
Opioid-dependent immune-mediated analgesic effects have been broadly reported upon inflammation. In preclinical mouse models of intestinal inflammatory diseases, the local release of enkephalins (endogenous opioids) by colitogenic T lymphocytes alleviate inflammation-induced pain by down-modulating gut-innervating nociceptor activation in periphery. In this study, we wondered whether this immune cell-derived enkephalin-mediated regulation of the nociceptor activity also operates under steady state conditions. Here, we show that chimeric mice engrafted with enkephalin-deficient bone marrow cells exhibit not only visceral hypersensitivity but also an increase in both epithelial paracellular and transcellular permeability, an alteration of the microbial topography resulting in increased bacteria-epithelium interactions and a higher frequency of IgA-producing plasma cells in Peyer's patches. All these alterations of the intestinal homeostasis are associated with an anxiety-like behavior despite the absence of an overt inflammation as observed in patients with irritable bowel syndrome. Thus, our results show that immune cell-derived enkephalins play a pivotal role in maintaining gut homeostasis and normal behavior in mice. Because a defect in the mucosal opioid system remarkably mimics some major clinical symptoms of the irritable bowel syndrome, its identification might help to stratify subgroups of patients.
Texto completo:
1
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Síndrome do Intestino Irritável
Idioma:
En
Ano de publicação:
2023
Tipo de documento:
Article