Alison Howard

Taurine uptake across the human intestinal brush-border membrane is via two transporters: H + -coupled PAT1 (SLC36A1) and Na + - and Cl − -dependent TauT (SLC6A6)

Taurine is an essential amino acid in some mammals and is conditionally essential in humans. Taurine is an abundant component of meat and fish‐based foods and has been used as an oral supplement in the treatment of disorders such as cystic fibrosis and hypertension. The purpose of this investigation was to identity the relative contributions of the solute transporters involved in taurine uptake across the luminal membrane of human enterocytes. Distinct transport characteristics were revealed following expression of the candidate solute transporters in Xenopus laevis oocytes: PAT1 (SLC36A1) is a H+‐coupled, pH‐dependent, Na+‐ and Cl−‐independent, low‐affinity, high‐capacity transporter for taurine and β‐alanine; TauT (SLC6A6) is a Na+‐ and Cl−‐dependent, high‐affinity, low‐capacity transporter of taurine and β‐alanine; ATB0,+ (SLC6A14) is a Na+‐ and Cl−‐dependent, high‐affinity, low‐capacity transporter which accepts β‐alanine but not taurine. Taurine uptake across the brush‐border membrane of human intestinal Caco‐2 cell monolayers showed characteristics of both PAT1‐ and TauT‐mediated transport. Under physiological conditions, Cl−‐dependent TauT‐mediated uptake predominates at low taurine concentrations, whereas at higher concentrations typical of diet, Cl−‐independent PAT1‐mediated uptake is the major absorptive mechanism. Real‐time PCR analysis of human duodenal and ileal biopsy samples demonstrates that PAT1, TauT and ATB0,+ mRNA are expressed in each tissue but to varying degrees. In conclusion, this study is the first to demonstrate both taurine uptake via PAT1 and functional coexpression of PAT1 and TauT at the apical membrane of the human intestinal epithelium. PAT1 may be responsible for bulk taurine uptake during a meal whereas TauT may be important for taurine supply to the intestinal epithelium and for taurine capture between meals.

Glycine transporter GLYT1 is essential for glycine-mediated protection of human intestinal epithelial cells against oxidative damage

Glycine protects mammalian intestine against oxidative damage caused by ischaemia‐reperfusion (IR) injury and prevents or reverses experimentally‐induced colitis. However the mechanism of protection remains largely unknown. The objectives of the current study were to demonstrate directly glycine‐mediated protection of human intestinal epithelial cells and to determine the requirement for glycine uptake by the specific transporter GLYT1. Exogenous glycine protected human intestinal Caco‐2 and HCT‐8 cells against the oxidative agent tert‐butylhydroperoxide and reduced the intracellular concentration of reactive oxygen species, when applied prior to but not concomitant with the oxidative challenge. Glycine given prior to oxidative challenge preserved intracellular glutathione concentration but had no effect on the rate of glycine uptake. Protection was dependent on GLYT1 activity, being blocked by a specific GLYT1 inhibitor, supporting a requirement for intracellular glycine accumulation. Maintained intracellular glutathione content is indicated as a mechanism through which the protective effect may in part be mediated. However expression of the genes encoding GLYT1 and the glutathione synthesising enzymes glutamate‐cysteine ligase, both catalytic and modifier subunits, and glutathione synthetase was not altered by glycine or tert‐butylhydroperoxide, suggesting transcriptional regulation is not involved. This work has demonstrated a novel role of GLYT1 in intestine and shown that intestinal epithelial cells respond directly to oxidative challenge without reliance on extra‐epithelial tissues or functions such as neurone, blood‐flow or immune responses for antioxidant defence. The protective actions of glycine and maintenance of epithelial antioxidant defences suggest it may be beneficial in treatment of inflammatory bowel disease.

Plasma membrane calcium pump expression in human placenta and small intestine.

To identify the forms of the plasma membrane calcium pump present in tissues that transport calcium, cDNA from human placenta and proximal small intestine was amplified by the polymerase chain reaction using a pair of mixed primers based on all the known human and rat plasma membrane calcium pump sequences. Clones were identified from the two human forms HPMCA1 and HPMCA4, but no new sequences were found in either tissue. RNA blots probed with HPMCA1 showed two bands in both tissues; probing with HPMCA4 gave a single, larger species. In placenta, HPMCA4 was the more abundant form and similar expression was found in full-term and second-trimester placentas. In contrast, in the small intestine, HPMCA1 was more abundant, suggesting that calcium absorption is not associated with any one specific isoform in calcium transporting cells.

Expression and functional analyses of liver expressed antimicrobial peptide-2 (LEAP-2) variant forms in human tissues

The antimicrobial peptide Liver Expressed Antimicrobial Peptide-2 (LEAP-2) is proposed to function as part of the vertebrate innate immune system. However, the highly conserved nature of the LEAP-2 peptide primary structure among vertebrates suggests more fundamental physiological roles. RT-PCR analyses confirmed expression of LEAP-2 mRNA variants in human gastro-intestinal (GI) epithelial tissues and THP-1 monocytes. Three cDNA products indicative of at least three different spliced transcripts were observed. Translation of the cDNA sequences supported synthesis of transcripts encoding the secreted LEAP-2 peptide and two variants lacking signal sequences suggesting intracellular localisation. The synthesis and cytoplasmic localisation of LEAP-2 peptides in epithelia was supported by immunohistochemical analyses. Functional data suggested that LEAP-2 is not involved in the physiological response of GI epithelia to iron, nor is it mitogenic for epithelial cells or chemotactic for THP-1 monocytes. However, changes in the LEAP-2 transcript patterns associated with the challenge of THP-1 monocytes with lipopolysaccharide (100ng/ml) were supportive of the peptides having multiple roles in the innate immune response.

Stimulation of intestinal basolateral membrane calcium-pump activity by recombinant synthetic calbindin-D9k and specific mutants

Calcium transport by the Ca2(+)-pumping ATPase in rat duodenal basolateral-enriched membrane vesicles was stimulated by synthetic calbindin-D9k in a similar fashion to the purified natural protein. In order to elucidate the mechanism of this effect, various synthetic mutant proteins were studied. Proteins with modifications to the N-terminal Ca2(+)-binding domain, or to a cluster of negatively-charged surface residues had altered Ca2(+)-binding but these changes did not affect the stimulation of vesicular Ca2+ transport. It appears that these domains are not essential for the interaction between calbindin-D9k and the intestinal basolateral Ca2(+)-pump.

The Zinc Finger Protein ZNF658 Regulates the Transcription of Genes Involved in Zinc Homeostasis and Affects Ribosome Biogenesis through the Zinc Transcriptional Regulatory Element

ABSTRACT We previously identified the ZTRE (zinc transcriptional regulatory element) in genes involved in zinc homeostasis and showed that it mediates transcriptional repression in response to zinc. We now report that ZNF658 acts at the ZTRE. ZNF658 was identified by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization–time of flight mass spectrometry of a band excised after electrophoretic mobility shift assay using a ZTRE probe. The protein contains a KRAB domain and 21 zinc fingers. It has similarity with ZAP1 from Saccharomyces cerevisiae, which regulates the response to zinc restriction, including a conserved DNA binding region we show to be functional also in ZNF658. Small interfering RNA (siRNA) targeted to ZNF658 abrogated the zinc-induced, ZTRE-dependent reduction in SLC30A5 (ZnT5 gene), SLC30A10 (ZnT10 gene), and CBWD transcripts in human Caco-2 cells and the ability of zinc to repress reporter gene expression from corresponding promoter-reporter constructs. Microarray analysis of the effect of reducing ZNF658 expression by siRNA uncovered a large decrease in rRNA. We find that ZTREs are clustered within the 45S rRNA precursor. We also saw effects on expression of multiple ribosomal proteins. ZNF658 thus links zinc homeostasis with ribosome biogenesis, the most active transcriptional, and hence zinc-demanding, process in the cell. ZNF658 is thus a novel transcriptional regulator that plays a fundamental role in the orchestrated cellular response to zinc availability.

Streptococcus pyogenes infection of tonsil explants is associated with a human β‐defensin 1 response from control but not recurrent acute tonsillitis patients

Host defence peptides (HDP), including the defensins and hCAP-18, function as part of the innate immune defences, protecting the host epithelia from microbial attachment and invasion. Recurrent acute tonsillitis (RAT), in which patients suffer repeated symptomatic tonsil infections, is linked to Streptococcus pyogenes, a group A streptococcus, and may reflect the impaired expression of such peptides. To address this, the defensin and hCAP-18 messenger RNA expression profiles of 54 tonsils excised from control and RAT patients undergoing tonsillectomy were quantified and compared. Marked variation in expression was observed between individuals from the two groups, but statistically no significant differences were identified, suggesting that at the time of surgery the tonsil epithelial HDP barrier was not compromised in RAT subjects. Surgical removal of the tonsils occurs in a quiescent phase of disease, and so to assess the effects of an active bacterial infection, HaCaT cells an in vitro model of the tonsil epithelium, and explants of patient tonsils maintained in vitro were challenged with S. pyogenes. The HaCaT data supported the reduced expression of hCAP-18/LL-37, human β-defensin 1 (HBD1;P < 0.01) and HBD2 (P < 0.05), consistent with decreased protection of the epithelial barrier. The tonsil explant data, although not as definitive, showed similar trends apart from HBD1 expression, which in the control tonsils but not the RAT patient tonsils was characterized by increased expression (P < 0.01). These data suggest that in vivo HBD1 may play a critical role in protecting the tonsil epithelia from S. pyogenes.