Introduction The ability of the intestinal epithelial barrier to respond to various injurious insults is an essential component of intestinal homeostasis. However, the molecular mechanisms responsible for wound-healing and repair in the intestine are poorly understood. The glycogen synthase kinase 3？ (GSK3？) has been implicated in various biological processes such as cellular motility, cell spreading and recently inflammation. Aim To investigate the role of GSK3？ in intestinal epithelial cell restitution. Methods Rat intestinal epithelial IEC18 cells were serum-starved for 16 to 24h and wounded by multiple scraping. Akt(Ser473)-, GSK3？(Ser9)- and RelA(Ser536)-phosphorylation were determined by Western blot using specific phospho-antibodies. The inhibitors AG1478 (1 μM) and Ly294002 (25 μM) were used to block EGF-R autophosphorylation and PI3K-activation, respectively. ？-catenin/LEF/TCF dependent transcription was determined by reporter gene assay (TOP/FOP system). C-myc gene expression was evaluated by real-time RT-PCR. GSK3？？/？ mouse embryonic fibroblasts were used to characterize the role of GSK3？ in wounding-induced cell migration. Results Wounding induced GSK3？(Ser9) phosphorylation in IEC-18 cells, which led to ？-catenin accumulation as well as nuclear translocation of ？-catenin. ？-catenin stabilization/nuclear translocation led to enhanced LEF-TCF transcriptional activity and subsequent c-myc mRNA accumulation in wounded cell monolayers. Blocking PI3K/Akt signaling with Ly294002 prevented wound-induced GSK3？(Ser9) phosphorylation as well as ？-catenin nuclear translocation and significantly attenuated restitution. Additionally, wounding induced rapid NF-kB(Ser536) phosphorylation, which was inhibited by AG1478, but not by Ly294002. GSK3？？/？ cells demonstrated significantly attenuated wound-induced restitution compared to wild-type cells. Conclusion We conclude that PI3K-mediated GSK3？ phosphorylation is involved in the intestinal epithelial wound-healing response. Phosphorylation of GSK3？ may be important for intestinal restitution by promoting cell motility in response to wounding
