Identification of an active site in the antisecretory factor protein

AbstractThe antisecretory factor (AF) is a new regulatory protein, produced in the human pituitary gland, which reverses intestinal fluid secretion induced by cholera toxin. We have previously described the cDNA-cloning and characterization of the expressed gene. The aim of this study was to identify the region responsible for the antisecretory activity in the AF-molecule. The recombinant full-length AF has an increased ability to inhibit hypersecretion after treatment with trypsin, indicating that the activity of AF is achieved by smaller peptide fragments. To localize the active region of AF, we expressed truncated forms of the recombinant protein and examined their antisecretory activity against cholera toxin-induced fluid secretion in rat. Nine recombinant AF peptides and four smaller peptides made by solid phase synthesis were tested. Five of the peptides lacked all activity, whereas seven of them were highly active, a dose between 4 and 15pmol causing a half-maximal inhibition. All the active peptides contained amino acid 36–42 of the AF sequence, whereas none of the inactive peptides contained this sequence. Our results suggest that the site of the antisecretory activity resides in a small region (I)VCHSKTR between position 35 and 42 of the AF molecule

Cholera Toxin Induces a Transient Depletion of CD8(+) Intraepithelial Lymphocytes in the Rat Small Intestine as Detected by Microarray and Immunohistochemistry

Cholera toxin (CT), besides causing intestinal hypersecretion after intragastric administration or during cholera infection, affects a multitude of regulatory mechanisms within the gut mucosal network, including T cells. By use of microarray screening, real-time PCR, and immunohistochemistry, we demonstrate here a rapid depletion of jejunal CD8(+) intraepithelial lymphocytes (IEL) in rats after intragastric CT challenge. This depletion may depend on CT-induced migration of IEL, since it was associated with a progressive decrease of CD8(+) cells in the epithelium and a contemporary transient increase of such cells, preferentially at the base of the villi, in the lamina propria. A significant decrease in the total number of villous CD8(+) cells at 6 and 18 h after CT challenge was detected; this possibly reflects an efflux from the jejunal mucosa. The kinetics of the CD8(+) IEL demonstrate the return to normal intraepithelial position at original numbers already 72 h after the single CT dose. The induced migration seems to be dependent on the enzymatic A-subunit of CT, since challenge with neither sorbitol nor CT B-subunit did mimic the effects of CT on CD8(+) IEL. Furthermore, a decrease in the level of both RANTES transcript and protein was detected, most likely as a consequence of the CT-induced migration of CD8(+) IEL. These results point to a complex interaction between CT, epithelial cells, and IEL, resulting in a disturbance of the gut homeostasis, which might have relevance for the strong immunomodulatory effects of intragastrically administered CT

Broad Up-Regulation of Innate Defense Factors during Acute Cholera

We used a whole-genome microarray screening system (Affymetrix human GeneChips covering 47,000 different transcripts) to examine the gene expression in duodenal mucosa during acute cholera. Biopsies were taken from the duodenal mucosa of seven cholera patients 2 and 30 days after the onset of diarrhea, and the gene expression patterns in the acute- and convalescent-phase samples were compared pairwise. Of about 21,000 transcripts expressed in the intestinal epithelium, 29 were defined as transcripts that were up-regulated and 33 were defined as transcripts that were down-regulated during acute cholera. The majority of the up-regulated genes characterized were found to have an established or possible role in the innate defense against infections; these genes included the LPLUNC1, LF, VCC1, TCN1, CD55, SERPINA3, MMP1, MMP3, IL1B, LCN2, SOCS3, GDF15, SLPI, CXCL13, and MUC1 genes. The results of confirmative PCR correlated well with the microarray data. An immunohistochemical analysis revealed increased expression of lactoferrin in lamina propria cells and increased expression of CD55 in epithelial cells, whereas increased expression of the SERPINA3 protein (α(1)-antichymotrypsin) was detected in both lamina propria and epithelial cells during acute cholera. The expression pattern of CD55 and SERPINA3 in cholera toxin (CT)-stimulated Caco-2 cells was the same as the pattern found in the intestinal mucosa during acute cholera, indicating that the activation of the CD55 and SERPINA3 genes in intestinal epithelium was induced by CT. In conclusion, during acute cholera infection, innate defense mechanisms are switched on to an extent not described previously. Both direct effects of CT on the epithelial cells and changes in the lamina propria cells contribute to this up-regulation