Ectopic expression of OX1R in ulcerative colitis mediates anti-inflammatory effect of orexin-A.

Orexins (orexin-A and orexin-B) are hypothalamic peptides that are produced by the same precursor and are involved in sleep/wake control, which is mediated by two G protein-coupled receptor subtypes, OX1R and OX2R. Ulcerative colitis (UC) is an inflammatory bowel disease, (IBD) which is characterized by long-lasting inflammation and ulcers that affect the colon and rectum mucosa and is known to be a significant risk factor for colon cancer development. Based on our recent studies showing that OX1R is aberrantly expressed in colon cancer, we wondered whether orexin-A could play a role in UC. Immunohistochemistry studies revealed that OX1R is highly expressed in the affected colonic epithelium of most UC patients, but not in the non-affected colonic mucosa. Injection of exogenous orexin-A specifically improved the inflammatory symptoms in the two colitis murine models. Conversely, injection of inactive orexin-A analog, OxB7-28 or OX1R specific antagonist SB-408124 did not have anti-inflammatory effect. Moreover, treatment with orexin-A in DSS-colitis induced OX1R-/- knockout mice did not have any protective effect. The orexin-A anti-inflammatory effect was due to the decreased expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines in immune cells and specifically in T-cells isolated from colonic mucosa. Moreover, orexin-A inhibited canonical NFκB activation in an immune cell line and in intestinal epithelial cell line. These results suggest that orexin-A might represent a promising alternative to current UC therapies.

A case of fatal Type I congenital disorders of glycosylation (CDG I) associated with low dehydrodolichol diphosphate synthase (DHDDS) activity.

BACKGROUND: Type I congenital disorders of glycosylation (CDG-I) are mostly complex multisystemic diseases associated with hypoglycosylated serum glycoproteins. A subgroup harbour mutations in genes necessary for the biosynthesis of the dolichol-linked oligosaccharide (DLO) precursor that is essential for protein N-glycosylation. Here, our objective was to identify the molecular origins of disease in such a CDG-Ix patient presenting with axial hypotonia, peripheral hypertonia, enlarged liver, micropenis, cryptorchidism and sensorineural deafness associated with hypo glycosylated serum glycoproteins. RESULTS: Targeted sequencing of DNA revealed a splice site mutation in intron 5 and a non-sense mutation in exon 4 of the dehydrodolichol diphosphate synthase gene (DHDDS). Skin biopsy fibroblasts derived from the patient revealed ~20 % residual DHDDS mRNA, ~35 % residual DHDDS activity, reduced dolichol-phosphate, truncated DLO and N-glycans, and an increased ratio of [2-(3)H]mannose labeled glycoprotein to [2-(3)H]mannose labeled DLO. Predicted truncated DHDDS transcripts did not complement rer2-deficient yeast. SiRNA-mediated down-regulation of DHDDS in human hepatocellular carcinoma HepG2 cells largely mirrored the biochemical phenotype of cells from the patient. The patient also harboured the homozygous ALG6(F304S) variant, which does not cause CDG but has been reported to be more frequent in PMM2-CDG patients with severe/fatal disease than in those with moderate presentations. WES did not reveal other strong candidate causal genes. CONCLUSIONS: We describe a patient presenting with severe multisystem disease associated with DHDDS deficiency. As retinitis pigmentosa is the only clinical sign in previously reported cases, this report broadens the spectrum of phenotypes associated with this condition.

Guanosine diphosphate-mannose:GlcNAc2-PP-dolichol mannosyltransferase deficiency (congenital disorders of glycosylation type Ik): five new patients and seven novel mutations.

BACKGROUND: In type I congenital disorders of glycosylation (CDG I), proteins necessary for the biosynthesis of the lipid-linked oligosaccharide (LLO) required for protein N-glycosylation are defective. A deficiency in guanosine diphosphate-mannose: GlcNAc(2)-PP-dolichol mannosyltransferase-1 (MT-1) causes CDG Ik (OMIM 608540), and only five patients, with severe multisystemic clinical presentations, have been described with this disease. Objective To characterise genetic, biochemical and clinical data in five new CDG Ik cases and compare these findings with those of the five previously described patients. Methods LLO biosynthesis was examined in skin biopsy fibroblasts, mannosyltransferases were assayed in microsomes prepared from these cells, and ALG1-encoding MT-1 was sequenced at the DNA and complementary DNA levels. Clinical data for the five new patients were collated. RESULTS: Cells from five patients with non-typed CDG I revealed accumulations of GlcNAc(2)-PP-dolichol, the second intermediate in the biosynthesis of LLO. Assay of MT-1, -2 and -3, the first three mannosyltransferases required for extension of this intermediate, demonstrated only MT-1 to be deficient. DNA sequencing of ALG1 revealed nine different mutations, seven of which have not been previously reported. Clinical presentations are severe, with dysmorphias, CNS involvement and ocular disturbances being prevalent. CONCLUSIONS: 5 patients with CDG Ik are described, and their identification reveals that in France, this disease and CDG Ib (mannose phosphate isomerase deficiency: OMIM 602579) are the most frequently diagnosed CDG I after CDG Ia (phosphomannomutase 2 deficiency: OMIM 601785) and substantiate previous observations indicating that this disease presents at the severe end of the CDG I clinical spectrum.

Cardiomyopathy in the congenital disorders of glycosylation (CDG): a case of late presentation and literature review.

The congenital disorders of glycosylation (CDG) are a recently described group of inherited multisystem disorders characterized by defects predominantly of N- and O-glycosylation of proteins. Cardiomyopathy in CDG has previously been described in several subtypes; it is usually associated with high morbidity and mortality and the majority of cases present in the first 2 years of life. This is the first case with presentation in late childhood and the article reviews current literature. An 11-year-old female with a background of learning difficulties presented in cardiac failure secondary to severe dilated cardiomyopathy. Prior to the diagnosis of CDG, her condition deteriorated; she required mechanical support (Excor Berlin Heart) and was listed for cardiac transplant. Investigations included screening for glycosylation disorders, and isoelectric focusing of transferrin revealed an abnormal type 1 pattern. Analysis of phosphomannomutase and phosphomannose isomerase showed normal enzyme activity, excluding PMM2 (CDG Ia) and MPI (CDG Ib). Lipid-linked oligosaccharide and mutational studies have not yet defined the defect. Despite aggressive therapy there were persistent difficulties achieving adequate anticoagulation and she developed multiple life-threatening thrombotic complications. She was removed from the transplant list and died from overwhelming sepsis 5 weeks following admission. This case emphasizes the need to screen all children with an undiagnosed cardiomyopathy for CDG, regardless of age, and where possible to exclude CDG before the use of cardiac bridging devices. It highlights the many practical and ethical challenges that may be encountered where clinical knowledge and experience are still evolving.

Selecting agent hygromycin B alters expression of glucose-regulated genes in transfected Caco-2 cells.

Incorporation into plasmids of genes conferring resistance to aminoglycoside antibiotics such as hygromycin B is currently utilized for selection in experiments involving gene transfer in eukaryotic cells. Using a subclone of Caco-2 cells stably transfected with an episomal plasmid containing the hygromycin resistance gene, we observed that transformed cells subcultured in the presence of hygromycin B exhibit, compared with the same cells subcultured in antibiotic-free medium, a sixfold increase in the rates of glucose consumption and lactic acid production and dramatic changes, at mRNA and protein level, of the expressions of sucrase-isomaltase and hexose transporter GLUT-2, which are downregulated, contrasting with an upregulation of hexose transporter GLUT-1. This occurs without significant modifications of the differentiation status of the cells, as demonstrated by the normal expression of villin, ZO-1, dipeptidyl peptidase IV, or Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase. The plasmid copy number is, however, the same, whether or not the cells are cultured in the presence of hygromycin B. These results draw attention to the need to consider antibiotic-dependent alterations of metabolism and gene expression in transfection experiments.

Glucose-dependent transcriptional regulation of the human sucrase-isomaltase (SI) gene.

We have previously shown that the transcription of the human sucrase-isomaltase (SI) gene was negatively regulated by glucose. Using two clonal metabolic variants of the human colon adenocarcinoma cell line Caco-2 we demonstrate here that: 1) although similar growth-related variations of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK), frutose 1,6-diphosphatase (F1, 6-dPase), pyruvate kinase (PK) and SI mRNA levels are observed, only F1,6-dPase, PK and SI mRNA levels vary in the same way in response to modifications of glucose utilization; and 2) regulatory elements responsible for the glucose-dependent transcription of the SI gene are located within the -370/+30 region of the promoter.

A limited upstream region of the human sucrase-isomaltase gene confers glucose-regulated expression on a heterologous gene.

We have previously shown that glucose can exert a repressive effect on the transcription of the sucrase-isomaltase (SI) gene in the differentiated enterocyte-like human colon carcinoma cell lines HT-29 and Caco-2. To characterize the region through which glucose exerts this effect, three different-length fragments of the 5'-flanking region of the human SI gene were linked to the reporter gene luciferase in an episomal vector carrying a hygromycin resistance gene. These fragments were used for transfection into a clone of the Caco-2 cell line, PF11, which has high glucose consumption and only expresses SI at high levels when cultured in the presence of a low supply of glucose. By using the stably transformed PF11 cells grown either in standard high glucose (25 mM) or in low glucose (1 mM) it was possible to show that the smallest fragment of the SI promoter, extending from bases -370 to +30, contains all the information required for the glucose repression of the reporter gene luciferase.

Regulation of expression of the human fructose transporter (GLUT5) by cyclic AMP.

The effect of cyclic AMP on the expression of the fructose transporter, GLUT5, was studied in Caco-2 cells, a human colon cancer cell line that differentiates spontaneously in culture into cells with the properties of small intestine enterocytes. Treatment of differentiated Caco-2 cells with 50 microM forskolin, which stimulates adenylate cyclase and raises intracellular cyclic AMP levels, increased fructose uptake 2-fold and raised GLUT5 protein and mRNA levels 5- and 7-fold respectively. The increased GLUT5 mRNA levels in forskolin-treated cells are a result of stabilization of GLUT5 mRNA in these cells and increased transcription. The effect of cyclic AMP on GLUT5 transcription was assessed by measuring the activity of human GLUT5 promoter-reporter gene constructs in forskolin-treated differentiated Caco-2 cells. The results showed that forskolin stimulated the activity of the GLUT5-reporter gene constructs and this stimulatory effect was mediated by cis-acting regulatory sequences.

Differential expression of sucrase-isomaltase in clones isolated from early and late passages of the cell line Caco-2: evidence for glucose-dependent negative regulation.

The expression of the brush border-associated hydrolase sucrase-isomaltase was shown to increase from early to late passages of Caco-2 cells, concomitant with a decrease in the rates of glucose consumption. Twenty-six clones were isolated from early (P29) and late (P198) passages of the cell line. These clones show considerable and inverse differences in the levels of sucrase activities and rates of glucose consumption, without marked changes in other features of enterocytic differentiation of the cells (presence of an apical brush border, levels of expression of other brush border-associated hydrolases). Clones with low sucrase-isomaltase expression show a mosaic expression of the enzyme and a 38-fold higher rate of glucose consumption than clones with high sucrase-isomaltase expression. The clones with high expression show an homogeneous apical distribution of the enzyme and 70-fold and 35-fold higher levels of sucrase activities and sucrase-isomaltase mRNA, respectively. In contrast no differences were found from one clone to another in the enrichment of sucrase activity in brush border-enriched fractions as compared to cell homogenates. Switch to low glucose-containing medium (1 mM versus 25 mM in standard culture conditions) of cells with low sucrase-isomaltase results in an increased and more homogeneous expression of the enzyme and a tenfold augmentation of the levels of sucrase-isomaltase mRNA and sucrase activity. These results show that glucose interferes with the expression of sucrase-isomaltase in Caco-2 cells at the mRNA level.

Monensin and forskolin inhibit the transcription rate of sucrase-isomaltase but not the stability of its mRNA in Caco-2 cells.

Treatment of Caco-2 cells with forskolin (25 microM) or monensin (1 microM) has previously been shown to cause a marked decrease in the level of sucrase-isomaltase (SI) mRNA, without any effect on the expression of dipeptidylpeptidase IV (DPP-IV). In the present work, we report that there is no significant difference in the stability of SI mRNA between control and treated cells. On the other hand, we demonstrate a decrease in the transcription rate of SI mRNA which is sufficient to account for the decrease in the steady-state level of SI mRNA both in forskolin- and monensin-treated Caco-2 cells.