scholarly journals Serum Zonulin Measured by Commercial Kit Fails to Correlate With Physiologic Measures of Altered Gut Permeability in First Degree Relatives of Crohn's Disease Patients

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Namita Power ◽  
Williams Turpin ◽  
Osvaldo Espin-Garcia ◽  
Michelle I. Smith ◽  
Kenneth Croitoru ◽  
...  

Intestinal epithelial cell tight junctions (TJs) contribute to the integrity of the intestinal barrier allowing for control of the physical barrier between external antigens or bacterial products and the internal environment. Zonula occludens-1 (ZO-1) is a protein that modulates intestinal TJs, and serum levels of ZO-1 has been suggested as a biomarker of disrupted barrier function in humans. Previous studies suggested that increased intestinal permeability was associated with evidence of TJ abnormalities. However, there is limited information on the serological measurement of ZO-1 and its relation to other tests of barrier function in healthy subjects. We investigated the correlation of serum ZO-1, with physiologic measures of intestinal permeability (as the ratio of the fractional excretion of lactulose-mannitol or LMR) in a cohort of 39 healthy FDRs of Crohn's disease (CD) patients. No significant correlation was found between LMR and ZO-1 levels (r2 = 0.004, P < 0.71), or intestinal fatty acid binding proteins (I-FABP) (r2 = 0.004, P < 0.71). In conclusion, our data show that ZO-1 and I-FABP are not a marker of gut permeability as defined by LMR.

2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (11) ◽  
pp. 1796-1804 ◽  
Author(s):  
Williams Turpin ◽  
Osvaldo Espin-Garcia ◽  
Larbi Bedrani ◽  
Karen Madsen ◽  
Jonathan B Meddings ◽  
...  

Abstract Excessive intestinal permeability or intestinal barrier dysfunction as measured by various assays has been observed in various diseases. However, little is known about the factors contributing to altered gut permeability in these diseases. Our objective was to determine the genetic determinants of altered gut permeability as measured by the lactulose mannitol fractional excretion ratio (LacMan ratio) in 1075 healthy first-degree relatives of patients with Crohn’s disease (CD). In a targeted analysis of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) located in genes associated with intestinal barrier function related or not to inflammatory bowel disease, we did not find a significant association with intestinal permeability. In an untargeted genome-wide association analysis, the top 100 associations were located in 22 genomic loci, although they were not statistically significant after correction for multiple testing (raw P values [1.8 × 10–7 - 1.4 × 10–5]. The lowest P value was obtained for rs9616637 (22q13.33, C22orf34), for which the minor allele A was associated with a decreased LacMan ratio. These results suggest that host genetic background has limited contribution toward intestinal permeability. Despite this, our study is currently the largest of its kind assessing gut permeability in vivo. It remains possible that smaller genetic effect sizes on LacMan ratio are not detectable in this sized cohort. Larger studies are warranted to identify the potential genetic contribution to intestinal permeability.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Fernanda Roca Rubio ◽  
Ulrika Eriksson ◽  
Robert J. Brummer ◽  
Julia König

AbstractThe intestinal barrier plays a crucial role in maintaining gut health, and an increased permeability has been linked to several intestinal and extra-intestinal disorders. There is an increasing demand for interventions aimed at strengthening this barrier and for in vivo challenge models to assess their efficiency. This study investigated the effect of sauna-induced dehydration on intestinal barrier function (clinicaltrials.gov: NCT03620825). Twenty healthy subjects underwent three conditions in random order: (1) Sauna dehydration (loss of 3% body weight), (2) non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) intake, (3) negative control. Intestinal permeability was assessed by a multi-sugar urinary recovery test, while intestinal damage, bacterial translocation and cytokines were assessed by plasma markers. The sauna dehydration protocol resulted in an increase in gastroduodenal and small intestinal permeability. Presumably, this increase occurred without substantial damage to the enterocytes as plasma intestinal fatty acid-binding protein (I-FABP) and liver fatty acid-binding protein (L-FABP) were not affected. In addition, we observed significant increases in levels of lipopolysaccharide-binding protein (LBP), IL-6 and IL-8, while sCD14, IL-10, IFN-ɣ and TNF-α were not affected. These results suggest that sauna dehydration increased intestinal permeability and could be applied as a new physiological in vivo challenge model for intestinal barrier function.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elke M. Muntjewerff ◽  
Kechun Tang ◽  
Lisanne Lutter ◽  
Gustaf Christoffersson ◽  
Mara J.T. Nicolasen ◽  
...  

AbstractBackground and AimsA ‘leaky’ gut barrier has been implicated in the initiation and progression of a multitude of diseases, e.g., inflammatory bowel disease, irritable bowel syndrome, celiac disease, and colorectal cancers. Here we asked how Chromogranin A (CgA), a major hormone produced by the enteroendocrine cells, and Catestatin (CST), the most abundant CgA-derived proteolytic peptide, affect the gut barrier.Methods and ResultsUltrastructural studies on the colons from Catestatin (CST: hCgA352-372) knockout (CST-KO) mice revealed (i) altered morphology of tight (TJ) and adherens (AJ) junctions and desmosomes, indicative of junctional stress and (ii) an increased infiltration of immune cells compared to controls. Flow cytometry studies confirmed these cells to be macrophages and CD4+ T cells. Gene expression studies confirmed that multiple TJ-markers were reduced, with concomitant compensatory elevation of AJ and desmosome markers. Consistently, the levels of plasma FITC-dextran were elevated in the CST-KO mice, confirming leakiness’ of the gut. Leaky gut in CST-KO mice correlated with inflammation and a higher ratio of Firmicutes to Bacteroidetes, a dysbiotic pattern commonly encountered in a multitude of diseases. Supplementation of CST-KO mice with recombinant CST reversed this leakiness and key phenotypes. Supplementation of CgA-KO mice with either CST alone, or with the pro-inflammatory proteolytic CgA fragment pancreastatin (PST: CgA250-301) showed that gut permeability is regulated by the antagonistic roles of these two peptide hormones: CST reduces and PST increases leakiness.ConclusionWe conclude that the enteroendocrine cell-derived hormone, CgA regulates gut permeability. CST is both necessary and sufficient to reduce the leakiness. CST acts primarily via antagonizing the effects of PST.What you need to knowBackground and ContextThe intestinal barrier is disrupted in many intestinal diseases such as Crohn’s disease. Chromogranin A (CgA) is produced by enteroendocrine cells in the gut. CgA is proteolytically cleaved into bioactive peptides including catestatin (CST) and pancreastatin (PST). The role of CgA in the gut is unknown.New findingsCgA is efficiently processed to CST in the gut and this processing might be decreased during active Crohn’s disease. CST promotes epithelial barrier function and reduces inflammation by counteracting PST.LimitationsThe complete mechanism of intestinal barrier regulation by CST likely involves a complex interplay between the enteroendocrine system, metabolism, the epithelium, the immune system and the gut microbiota.ImpactOur findings indicate that CST is a key modulator of the intestinal barrier and immune functions that correlates with disease severity of Crohn’s disease. CST could be a target for therapeutic interventions in Crohn’s disease.


2012 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 464-469 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rainer Noth ◽  
Eckhard Stüber ◽  
Robert Häsler ◽  
Susanna Nikolaus ◽  
Tanja Kühbacher ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (21) ◽  
pp. 7824
Author(s):  
Jia-Chen Hu ◽  
Christian Bojarski ◽  
Federica Branchi ◽  
Michael Fromm ◽  
Susanne Krug

Crohn’s disease (CD) has an altered intestinal barrier function, yet the underlying mechanisms remain to be disclosed. The tricellular tight junction protein tricellulin is involved in the maintenance of the paracellular macromolecule barrier and features an unchanged expression level in CD but a shifted localization. As angulins are known to regulate the localization of tricellulin, we hypothesized the involvement of angulins in CD. Using human biopsies, we found angulin-1 was downregulated in active CD compared with both controls and CD in remission. In T84 and Caco-2 monolayers, leptin, a cytokine secreted by fat tissue and affected in CD, decreased angulin-1 expression. This effect was completely blocked by STAT3 inhibitors, Stattic and WP1066, but only partially by JAK2 inhibitor AG490. The effect of leptin was also seen at a functional level as we observed in Caco-2 cells an increased permeability for FITC-dextran 4 kDa indicating an impaired barrier against macromolecule uptake. In conclusion, we were able to show that in active CD angulin-1 expression is downregulated, which leads to increased macromolecule permeability and is inducible by leptin via STAT3. This suggests that angulin-1 and leptin secretion are potential targets for intervention in CD to restore the impaired intestinal barrier.


PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (7) ◽  
pp. e0254280
Author(s):  
Maria Fernanda Roca Rubio ◽  
Ulrika Eriksson ◽  
Robert J. Brummer ◽  
Julia König

Background and aim Psychological stress has been shown to increase intestinal permeability and is associated with the development of gastrointestinal disorders. This study aimed to investigate skydiving as an alternative model to analyse the effect of acute psychological stress on intestinal barrier function. Materials and methods Twenty healthy subjects participated in a tandem skydive followed by a negative control visit, of which 19 (9 females and 10 males, 25.9 ± 3.7 years) were included in the study. Intestinal permeability was assessed by a multi-sugar urinary recovery test. Sucrose recovery and lactulose/rhamnose ratio in 0-5h urine indicated gastroduodenal and small intestinal permeability, respectively, and sucralose/erythritol ratio in 5-24h urine indicated colonic permeability. Blood samples were taken to assess markers associated with barrier function. This study has been registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT03644979) on August 23, 2018. Results Skydiving resulted in a significant increase in salivary cortisol levels directly after skydiving compared to the control visit. Cortisol levels were still increased two hours after landing, while cortisol levels before skydiving were not significantly different from the baseline at the control visit. Skydiving did not induce a significant increase in gastroduodenal, small intestinal or colonic permeability. There was also no significant increase in plasma intestinal and liver fatty acid-binding proteins, suggesting no damage to the enterocytes. Discussion These results show that the acute intense psychological stress induced by skydiving does not affect intestinal permeability in healthy subjects. Future models aiming to investigate the effect of stress on human intestinal barrier function should consider a more sustained exposure to the psychological stressor.


Gut ◽  
1999 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
pp. 96-100 ◽  
Author(s):  
J D Söderholm ◽  
G Olaison ◽  
E Lindberg ◽  
U Hannestad ◽  
A Vindels ◽  
...  

BackgroundA familial defect in intestinal barrier function has been found in Crohn’s disease.AimTo investigate possible genetic and environmental influences on this barrier defect by studying intestinal permeability in both relatives and spouses of patients with Crohn’s disease.SubjectsThe study included 39 patients with Crohn’s disease, 34 healthy first degree relatives, and 22 spouses. Twenty nine healthy volunteers served as controls.MethodsIntestinal permeability was assessed as the lactulose:mannitol ratio in five hour urinary excretion after oral load, both before (baseline) and after ingestion of acetylsalicylic acid. The permeability response represents the difference between the two tests. A ratio above the 95th percentile for controls was classified as abnormal.ResultsBaseline permeability was higher in patients and spouses than in controls. An abnormal baseline permeability was seen in 36% of the patients, 23% of the spouses, 18% of the relatives, and 3% of the controls. After ingestion of acetylsalicylic acid, permeability increased significantly in all groups. Relatives were similar to patients with regard to permeability after exposure to acetylsalicylic acid, whereas spouses were similar to controls. The proportions with an abnormal permeability response to acetylsalicylic acid were 32% in patients, 14% in spouses, 41% in relatives, and 3% in controls.ConclusionThe findings suggest that baseline permeability is determined by environmental factors, whereas permeability provoked by acetylsalicylic acid is a function of the genetically determined state of the mucosal barrier, and support the notion that environmental and hereditary factors interact in the pathogenesis of Crohn’s disease.


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