Gastroenterology
Abstract
Gasdermin D (GSDMD) induces pyroptosis via the pore-forming activity of its N-terminal domain, cleaved by activated caspases associated with the release of IL-1β. Here, we report a nonpyroptotic role of full-length GSDMD in guiding the release of IL-1β–containing small extracellular vesicles (sEVs) from intestinal epithelial cells (IECs). In response to caspase-8 inflammasome activation, GSDMD, chaperoned by Cdc37/Hsp90, recruits the E3 ligase, NEDD4, to catalyze polyubiquitination of pro–IL-1β, serving as a signal for cargo loading into secretory vesicles. GSDMD and IL-1β colocalize with the exosome markers CD63 and ALIX intracellularly, and GSDMD and NEDD4 are required for release of CD63+ sEVs containing IL-1β, GSDMD, NEDD4, and caspase-8. Importantly, increased expression of epithelial-derived GSDMD is observed both in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and those with experimental colitis. While GSDMD-dependent release of IL-1β–containing sEVs is detected in cultured colonic explants from colitic mice, GSDMD deficiency substantially attenuates disease severity, implicating GSDMD-mediated release of IL-1β sEVs in the pathogenesis of intestinal inflammation, such as that observed in IBD.
Authors
Katarzyna Bulek, Junjie Zhao, Yun Liao, Nitish Rana, Daniele Corridoni, Agne Antanaviciute, Xing Chen, Han Wang, Wen Qian, William A. Miller-Little, Shadi Swaidani, Fangqiang Tang, Belinda B. Willard, Keith McCrae, Zizhen Kang, George R. Dubyak, Fabio Cominelli, Alison Simmons, Theresa T. Pizarro, Xiaoxia Li
Abstract
Chronic infections can lead to carcinogenesis through inflammation-related mechanisms. Chronic infection of the human gastric mucosa with Helicobacter pylori is a well-known risk factor for gastric cancer. However, the mechanisms underlying H. pylori–induced gastric carcinogenesis are incompletely defined. We aimed to screen and clarify the functions of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) that are differentially expressed in H. pylori–related gastric cancer. We found that lncRNA SNHG17 was upregulated by H. pylori infection and markedly increased the levels of double-strand breaks (DSBs). SNHG17 overexpression correlated with poor overall survival in patients with gastric cancer. The recruitment of NONO by overabundant nuclear SNHG17, along with the role of cytoplasmic SNHG17 as a decoy for miR-3909, which regulates Rad51 expression, shifted the DSB repair balance from homologous recombination toward nonhomologous end joining. Notably, during chronic H. pylori infection, SNHG17 knockdown inhibited chromosomal aberrations. Our findings suggest that spatially independent deregulation of the SNHG17/NONO and SNHG17/miR-3909/RING1/Rad51 pathways upon H. pylori infection promotes tumorigenesis in gastric cancer by altering the DNA repair system, which is critical for the maintenance of genomic stability. Upregulation of SNHG17 by H. pylori infection might be an undefined link between cancer and inflammation.
Authors
Taotao Han, Xiaohui Jing, Jiayu Bao, Lianmei Zhao, Aidong Zhang, Renling Miao, Hui Guo, Baoguo Zhou, Shang Zhang, Jiazeng Sun, Juan Shi
Abstract
The tight junction protein claudin-2 is upregulated in disease. Although many studies have linked intestinal barrier loss to local and systemic disease, these have relied on macromolecular probes. In vitro analyses show however that these probes cannot be accommodated by size- and charge-selective claudin-2 channels. We sought to define the impact of claudin-2 channels on disease. Transgenic claudin-2 overexpression or IL-13-induced claudin-2 upregulation increased intestinal small cation permeability in vivo. IL-13 did not however affect permeability in claudin-2-knockout mice. Claudin-2 is therefore necessary and sufficient to effect size- and charge-selective permeability increases in vivo. In chronic disease, T-cell transfer colitis severity was augmented or diminished in claudin-2 transgenic or knockout mice, respectively. We translated in vitro data suggesting that casein kinase-2 (CK2) inhibition blocks claudin-2 channel function and found that CK2 inhibition prevented IL-13-induced, claudin-2-mediated permeability increases in vivo. In chronic immune-mediated colitis, CK2 inhibition attenuated progression in claudin-2-sufficient, but not claudin-2-knockout, mice, i.e., the effect was claudin-2-dependent. Paracellular flux mediated by claudin-2 channels can therefore promote immune-mediated colitis progression. Although the mechanisms by which claudin-2 channels intensify disease remain to be defined, these data suggest that claudin-2 may be an accessible target in immune-mediated disorders, including inflammatory bowel disease.
Authors
Preeti Raju, Nitesh Shashikanth, Pei-Yun Tsai, Pawin Pongkorpsakol, Sandra Chanez-Parades, Peter R. Steinhagen, Wei-Ting Kuo, Gurminder Singh, Sachiko Tsukita, Jerrold R. Turner
Abstract
Enteric neuronal degeneration, as seen in inflammatory bowel disease, obesity, and diabetes, can lead to gastrointestinal dysmotility. Pyroptosis is a novel form of programmed cell death but little is known about its role in enteric neuronal degeneration. We observed higher levels of cleaved caspase-1, a marker of pyroptosis, in myenteric ganglia of overweight and obese human subjects compared with normal-weight subjects. Western diet–fed (WD-fed) mice exhibited increased myenteric neuronal pyroptosis, delayed colonic transit, and impaired electric field stimulation–induced colonic relaxation responses. WD increased TLR4 expression and cleaved caspase-1 in myenteric nitrergic neurons. Overactivation of nitrergic neuronal NF-κB signaling resulted in increased pyroptosis and delayed colonic motility. In caspase-11–deficient mice, WD did not induce nitrergic myenteric neuronal pyroptosis and colonic dysmotility. To understand the contributions of saturated fatty acids and bacterial products to the steps leading to enteric neurodegeneration, we performed in vitro experiments using mouse enteric neurons. Palmitate and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) increased nitrergic, but not cholinergic, enteric neuronal pyroptosis. LPS gained entry to the cytosol in the presence of palmitate, activating caspase-11 and gasdermin D, leading to pyroptosis. These results support a role of the caspase-11–mediated pyroptotic pathway in WD-induced myenteric nitrergic neuronal degeneration and colonic dysmotility, providing important therapeutic targets for enteric neuropathy.
Authors
Lan Ye, Ge Li, Anna Goebel, Abhinav V. Raju, Feng Kong, Yanfei Lv, Kailin Li, Yuanjun Zhu, Shreya Raja, Peijian He, Fang Li, Simon Musyoka Mwangi, Wenhui Hu, Shanthi Srinivasan
Abstract
Background: Bariatric surgeries are the most effective treatments for successful and sustained weight loss but individuals vary in treatment response. Understanding the neurobiological and behavioral mechanisms accounting for this variation could lead to the development of personalized therapeutic approaches and improve treatment outcomes. The primary objectives were to investigate changes in taste preferences and taste-induced brain responses after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) and vertical sleeve gastrectomy (VSG) and to identify potential taste-related predictors of weight loss. Methods: Women, ages 18 to 55, with a body mass index ≥ 35 kg/m2 and approved for bariatric surgery at the Johns Hopkins Center for Bariatric Surgery were recruited for participation. Demographics, anthropometrics, liking ratings, and neural responses to varying concentrations of sucrose+fat mixtures were assessed pre- and post-surgery via visual analogue scales and functional magnetic resonance imaging. Results: Bariatric surgery produced decreases in liking for sucrose-sweetened mixtures. Greater preference for sucrose-sweetened mixtures prior to surgery was associated with greater weight loss in RYGB but not VSG. In the RYGB group only, individuals who showed lower taste-induced activation in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) prior to surgery and greater changes in taste-induced VTA activation two weeks following surgery experienced better weight loss. Conclusions: The anatomical and/or metabolic changes associated with RYGB may more effectively “reset” the neural processing of reward stimuli, thereby rescuing the blunted activation in the mesolimbic pathway found in patients with obesity. Further, these findings suggest that RYGB may be particularly effective in patients with a preference for sweet foods. Trial Registration: Not Applicable.Funding: K23DK100559 and The Dalio Philanthropies. Funding: K23DK100559 and The Dalio Philanthropies.
Authors
Kimberly R. Smith, Afroditi Papantoni, Maria G. Veldhuizen, Vidyulata Kamath, Civonnia Harris, Timothy H. Moran, Susan Carnell, Kimberley E. Steele
Abstract
Transcriptional reactivation of telomerase catalytic subunit (TERT) is a frequent hallmark of cancer, occurring in 90% of human malignancies. However, specific mechanisms driving TERT reactivation remain obscure for many tumor types and in particular gastric cancer (GC), a leading cause of global cancer mortality. Here, through comprehensive genomic and epigenomic analysis of primary GCs and GC cell lines, we identified the transcription factor early B cell factor 1 (EBF1) as a TERT transcriptional repressor and inactivation of EBF1 function as a major cause of TERT upregulation. Abolishment of EBF1 function occurs through 3 distinct (epi)genomic mechanisms. First, EBF1 is epigenetically silenced via DNA methyltransferase, polycomb-repressive complex 2 (PRC2), and histone deacetylase activity in GCs. Second, recurrent, somatic, and heterozygous EBF1 DNA–binding domain mutations result in the production of dominant-negative EBF1 isoforms. Third, more rarely, genomic deletions and rearrangements proximal to the TERT promoter remobilize or abolish EBF1-binding sites, derepressing TERT and leading to high TERT expression. EBF1 is also functionally required for various malignant phenotypes in vitro and in vivo, highlighting its importance for GC development. These results indicate that multimodal genomic and epigenomic alterations underpin TERT reactivation in GC, converging on transcriptional repressors such as EBF1.
Authors
Manjie Xing, Wen Fong Ooi, Jing Tan, Aditi Qamra, Po-Hsien Lee, Zhimei Li, Chang Xu, Nisha Padmanabhan, Jing Quan Lim, Yu Amanda Guo, Xiaosai Yao, Mandoli Amit, Ley Moy Ng, Taotao Sheng, Jing Wang, Kie Kyon Huang, Chukwuemeka George Anene-Nzelu, Shamaine Wei Ting Ho, Mohana Ray, Lijia Ma, Gregorio Fazzi, Kevin Junliang Lim, Giovani Claresta Wijaya, Shenli Zhang, Tannistha Nandi, Tingdong Yan, Mei Mei Chang, Kakoli Das, Zul Fazreen Adam Isa, Jeanie Wu, Polly Suk Yean Poon, Yue Ning Lam, Joyce Suling Lin, Su Ting Tay, Ming Hui Lee, Angie Lay Keng Tan, Xuewen Ong, Kevin White, Steven George Rozen, Michael Beer, Roger Sik Yin Foo, Heike Irmgard Grabsch, Anders Jacobsen Skanderup, Shang Li, Bin Tean Teh, Patrick Tan
Abstract
Approximately half of the world’s population is infected with the stomach pathogen Helicobacter pylori. Infection with H. pylori is the main risk factor for distal gastric cancer. Bacterial virulence factors, such as the oncoprotein CagA, augment cancer risk. Yet despite high infection rates, only a fraction of H. pylori–infected individuals develop gastric cancer. This raises the question of defining the specific host and bacterial factors responsible for gastric tumorigenesis. To investigate the tumorigenic determinants, we analyzed gastric tissues from human subjects and animals infected with H. pylori bacteria harboring different CagA status. For laboratory studies, well-defined H. pylori strain B128 and its cancerogenic derivative strain 7.13, as well as various bacterial isogenic mutants were employed. We found that H. pylori compromises key tumor suppressor mechanisms: the host stress and apoptotic responses. Our studies showed that CagA induces phosphorylation of XIAP E3 ubiquitin ligase, which enhances ubiquitination and proteasomal degradation of the host proapoptotic factor Siva1. This process is mediated by the PI3K/Akt pathway. Inhibition of Siva1 by H. pylori increases survival of human cells with damaged DNA. It occurs in a strain-specific manner and is associated with the ability to induce gastric tumor.
Authors
Manikandan Palrasu, Elena Zaika, Wael El-Rifai, Monica Garcia-Buitrago, Maria Blanca Piazuelo, Keith T. Wilson, Richard M. Peek Jr., Alexander I. Zaika
Abstract
Chronic pancreatitis (CP) is considered an irreversible fibroinflammatory pancreatic disease. Despite numerous animal model studies, questions remain about local immune characteristics in human CP. We profiled pancreatic immune cell characteristics in control organ donors and CP patients that included hereditary and idiopathic CP undergoing total pancreatectomy with islet auto-transplantation. Flow cytometric analysis revealed a significant increase in the frequency of CD68+ macrophages in idiopathic CP. In contrast, hereditary CP showed a significant increase in CD3+ T cell frequency, which prompted us to investigate the T cell receptor β (TCRβ) repertoire in CP and controls. TCRβ-sequencing revealed a significant increase in TCRβ repertoire diversity and reduced clonality in both CP groups versus controls. Interestingly, we observed differences in Vβ-Jβ gene family usage between hereditary and idiopathic CP and a positive correlation of TCRβ rearrangements with disease severity scores. Immunophenotyping analyses in hereditary and idiopathic CP pancreata indicate differences in innate and adaptive immune responses, which highlights differences in immunopathogenic mechanism of disease among subtypes of CP. TCR repertoire analysis further suggests a role for specific T cell responses in hereditary versus idiopathic CP pathogenesis providing new insights into immune responses associated with human CP.
Authors
Bomi Lee, Julia Z. Adamska, Hong Namkoong, Melena D. Bellin, Joshua J. Wilhelm, Gregory L. Szot, David M. Louis, Mark M. Davis, Stephen Pandol, Aida Habtezion
Abstract
Elevated pressure in the pancreatic gland is the central cause of pancreatitis following abdominal trauma, surgery, endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP), and gallstones. In the pancreas excessive intracellular calcium causes mitochondrial dysfunction, premature zymogen activation, and necrosis ultimately leading to pancreatitis. Although stimulation of the mechanically activated, calcium-permeable ion channel, Piezo1, in the pancreatic acinar cell is the initial step in pressure-induced pancreatitis, activation of Piezo1 produces only transient elevation in intracellular calcium that is insufficient to cause pancreatitis. Therefore, how pressure produces a prolonged calcium elevation necessary to induce pancreatitis is unknown. We demonstrate that Piezo1 activation in pancreatic acinar cells caused a prolonged elevation in intracellular calcium levels, mitochondrial depolarization, intracellular trypsin activation, and cell death. Notably, these effects were dependent on the degree and duration of force applied to the cell. Low or transient force were insufficient to activate these pathological changes whereas higher and prolonged application of force triggered sustained elevation in intracellular calcium leading to enzyme activation and cell death. All of these pathological events were rescued in acinar cells treated with a Piezo1 antagonist and in acinar cells from mice with genetic deletion of Piezo1. We discovered that Piezo1 stimulation triggered TRPV4 channel opening which was responsible for the sustained elevation in intracellular calcium that caused intracellular organelle dysfunction. Moreover, TRPV4 gene knockout mice were protected from Piezo1 agonist- and pressure-induced pancreatitis. These studies unveil a calcium signaling pathway in which Piezo1-induced TRPV4 channel opening causes pancreatitis.
Authors
Sandip M. Swain, Joelle M.J. Romac, Rafiq A. Shahid, Stephen J. Pandol, Wolfgang Liedtke, Steven R. Vigna, Rodger A. Liddle
Abstract
Visceral adipose tissue plays a critical role in numerous diseases. While imaging studies often show adipose involvement in abdominal diseases, their outcomes may vary from being a mild self limited illness to one with systemic inflammation and organ failure. We therefore compared the pattern of visceral adipose injury during acute pancreatitis and acute diverticulitis to determine its role in organ failure. Acute pancreatitis-associated adipose tissue had ongoing lipolysis in the absence of adipocyte triglyceride lipase (ATGL). Pancreatic lipase injection into mouse visceral adipose tissue hydrolyzed adipose triglyceride and generated excess non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA), which caused organ failure in the absence of acute pancreatitis. Pancreatic triglyceride lipase (PNLIP) increased in adipose tissue during pancreatitis and entered adipocytes by multiple mechanisms, hydrolyzing adipose triglyceride and generating excessive NEFA. During pancreatitis, obese PNLIP knockout mice, unlike obese adipocyte-specific ATGL knockouts, had lower visceral adipose tissue lipolysis, milder inflammation, lesser organ failure, and improved survival. PNLIP knockout mice, unlike ATGL knockouts, were protected from adipocyte-induced pancreatic acinar injury without affecting NEFA signaling or acute pancreatitis induction. Therefore during pancreatitis, unlike diverticulitis, PNLIP leaked into visceral adipose tissue can cause excessive visceral adipose tissue lipolysis independent of adipocyte-autonomous ATGL, and thereby worsen organ failure.
Authors
Cristiane de Oliveira, Biswajit Khatua, Pawan Noel, Sergiy Kostenko, Arup Bag, Bijinu Balakrishnan, Krutika S. Patel, Andre A. Guerra, Melissa N. Martinez, Shubham Trivedi, Ann E. McCullough, Dora M. Lam-Himlin, Sarah Navina, Douglas O. Faigel, Norio Fukami, Rahul Pannala, Anna Evans Phillips, Georgios I. Papachristou, Erin E. Kershaw, Mark E. Lowe, Vijay P. Singh
Copyright © 2022 American Society for Clinical Investigation
ISSN: 0021-9738 (print), 1558-8238 (online)