Gata4 is critical to maintain gut barrier function and mucosal integrity following epithelial injury.

The intestinal epithelial barrier is critical to limit potential harmful consequences from exposure to deleterious luminal contents on the organism. Although this barrier is functionally important along the entire gut, specific regional regulatory mechanisms involved in the maintenance of this barrier are poorly defined. Herein, we identified Gata4 as a crucial regulator of barrier integrity in the mouse proximal intestinal epithelium. Conditional deletion of Gata4 in the intestine led to a drastic increase in claudin-2 expression that was associated with an important increase of gut barrier permeability without causing overt spontaneous inflammation. Administration of indomethacin, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) that causes enteritis, led to rapid and restricted proximal small intestinal injuries in Gata4 mutant mice as opposed to control mice. Comparative analysis of gene transcript profiles from indomethacin-challenged control and Gata4 mutant mice identified defects in epithelial cell survival, inflammatory cell recruitment and tissue repair mechanisms. Altogether, these observations identify Gata4 as a novel crucial regulator of the intestinal epithelial barrier and as a critical epithelial transcription factor implicated in the maintenance of proximal intestinal mucosal integrity after injury.

Identification of GATA-4 as a novel transcriptional regulatory component of regenerating islet-derived family members.

Intestinal epithelial cells are exposed to luminal bacterial threat and require adequate defense mechanisms to ensure host protection and epithelium regeneration against possible deleterious damage. Differentiated intestinal epithelial cells produce antimicrobial and regenerative components that protect against such challenges. Few intestinal specific transcription factors have been identified to control the switching from repression to activation of this class of gene. Herein, we show that gene transcription of some regenerating islet-derived (REG) family members is dependent on the transcription factor GATA-4. Silencing of GATA-4 expression in cultured intestinal epithelial cells identified Reg3ß as a target gene using an unbiased approach of gene expression profiling. Co-transfection and RNA interference assays identified complex GATA-4-interactive transcriptional components required for the activation or repression of Reg3ß gene activity. Conditional deletion of Gata4 in the mouse intestinal epithelium supported its regulatory role for Reg1, Reg3α, Reg3ß and Reg3γ genes. Reg1 dramatic down-modulation of expression in Gata4 conditional null mice was associated with a significant decrease in intestinal epithelial cell migration. Altogether, these results identify a novel and complex role for GATA-4 in the regulation of REG family members gene expression.

Plasma omega-3 fatty acid response to a fish oil supplement in the healthy elderly.

Little information is available concerning whether incorporation of dietary omega-3 fatty acids into plasma lipids changes during healthy aging. Elderly (74 +/- 4 years old) and young (24 +/- 2 years old) adults were given a fish oil supplement for 3 weeks that provided 680 mg/day of docosahexaenoic acid and 320 mg/day of eicosapentaenoic acid, followed by a 2 week wash-out period. Compliance was monitored by spiking the capsules with carbon-13 glucose, the excretion of which was measured in breath CO2. In response to the supplement, plasma docosahexaenoic acid rose 42% more in the elderly but eicosapentaenoic responded similarly in both groups. Despite raising docosahexaenoic acid intake by five to tenfold, the supplement did not raise plasma free docosahexaenoic acid (% or mg/dL) in either group. We conclude that healthy aging is accompanied by subtle but significant changes in DHA incorporation into plasma lipids.