Donald P. Satchell

Secretion of microbicidal alpha-defensins by intestinal Paneth cells in response to bacteria.

Paneth cells in mouse small intestinal crypts secrete granules rich in microbicidal peptides when exposed to bacteria or bacterial antigens. The dose-dependent secretion occurs within minutes and α-defensins, or cryptdins, account for 70% of the released bactericidal peptide activity. Gram-negative bacteria, Gram-positive bacteria, lipopolysaccharide, lipoteichoic acid, lipid A and muramyl dipeptide elicit cryptdin secretion. Live fungi and protozoa, however, do not stimulate degranulation. Thus intestinal Paneth cells contribute to innate immunity by sensing bacteria and bacterial antigens, and discharge microbicidal peptides at effective concentrations accordingly.

Secretion of microbicidal α-defensins by intestinal Paneth cellsin response to bacteria

Paneth cells in mouse small intestinal crypts secrete granules rich in microbicidal peptides when exposed to bacteria or bacterial antigens. The dose-dependent secretion occurs within minutes and α-defensins, or cryptdins, account for 70% of the released bactericidal peptide activity. Gram-negative bacteria, Gram-positive bacteria, lipopolysaccharide, lipoteichoic acid, lipid A and muramyl dipeptide elicit cryptdin secretion. Live fungi and protozoa, however, do not stimulate degranulation. Thus intestinal Paneth cells contribute to innate immunity by sensing bacteria and bacterial antigens, and discharge microbicidal peptides at effective concentrations accordingly.

Activation of Paneth Cell α-Defensins in Mouse Small Intestine

Paneth cells in small intestine crypts secrete microbicidal α-defensins, termed cryptdins, as components of enteric innate immunity. The bactericidal activity of cryptdins requires proteolytic activation of precursors by matrix metalloproteinase-7 (MMP-7; matrilysin) (Wilson, C. L., Ouellette, A. J., Satchell, D. P., Ayabe, T., Lopez-Boado, Y. S., Stratman, J. L., Hultgren, S. J., Matrisian, L. M., and Parks, W. C. (1999) Science 286, 113–117). Here, we report on the intracellular processing of cryptdin proforms in mouse Paneth cells. Peptide sequencing of MMP-7 digests of purified natural procryptdins identified conserved cleavage sites in the proregion between Ser43 and Val44 as well as at the cryptdin peptide N terminus between Ser58 and Leu59. Immunostaining co-localized precursor prosegments and mature cryptdin peptides to Paneth cell granules, providing evidence of their secretion. Extensive MMP-7-dependent procryptdin processing occurs in Paneth cells, as shown by Western blot analyses of intestinal crypt proteins and proteins from granule-enriched subcellular fractions. The addition of soluble prosegments to in vitro antimicrobial peptide assays inhibited the bactericidal activities of cryptdin-3 and -4 intrans, suggesting possible cytoprotective effects by prosegments prior to secretion. Levels of activated cryptdins were normal in small bowel of germ-free mice and in sterile implants of fetal mouse small intestine grown subcutaneously. Thus, the initiation of procryptdin processing by MMP-7 does not require direct bacterial exposure, and the basal MMP-7 content of germ-free Paneth cells is sufficient to process and activate α-defensin precursors. MMP-7-dependent procryptdin activation in vivoprovides mouse Paneth cells with functional peptides for apical secretion into the small intestine lumen.

Characterization of luminal paneth cell alpha-defensins in mouse small intestine. Attenuated antimicrobial activities of peptides with truncated amino termini.

Paneth cells at the base of small intestinal crypts secrete apical granules that contain antimicrobial peptides including α-defensins, termed cryptdins. Using an antibody specific for mouse cryptdin-1, -2, -3, and -6, immunogold-localization studies demonstrated that cryptdins are constituents of mouse Paneth cell secretory granules. Several cryptdin peptides have been purified from rinses of adult mouse small intestine by gel filtration and reverse-phase high performance liquid chromatography. Their primary structures were determined by peptide sequencing, and their antimicrobial activities were compared with those of the corresponding tissue forms. The isolated luminal cryptdins included peptides identical to the tissue forms of cryptdin-2, -4, and -6 as well as variants of cryptdin-1, -4, and -6 that have N termini truncated by one or two residues. In assays of antimicrobial activity againstStaphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, and the defensin-sensitive Salmonella typhimurium phoP − mutant, full-length cryptdins had the same in vitro antibacterial activities whether isolated from tissue or from the lumen. In contrast, the N-terminal-truncated (des-Leu), (des-Leu-Arg)-cryptdin-6, and (des-Gly)-cryptdin-4 peptides were markedly less active. The microbicidal activities of recombinant cryptdin-4 and (des-Gly)-cryptdin-4 peptides against E. coli, and S. typhimurium showed that the N-terminal Gly residue or the length of the cryptdin-4 N terminus are determinants of microbicidal activity. Innate immunity in the crypt lumen may be modulated by aminopeptidase modification of α-defensins after peptide secretion.

Quantitative interactions between cryptdin-4 amino terminal variants and membranes

Paneth cells secrete alpha-defensins into the lumen from the base of small intestinal crypts, and cryptdin-4 (Crp4) is the most potent mouse alpha-defensin in vitro. Purified recombinant Crp4 and Crp4 variants with (des-Gly)-, (Gly1Val)-, (Gly1Asp)-, and (Gly1Arg)-substitutions were all bactericidal with Crp4 and (Gly1Arg)-Crp4 being slightly more active than other variants. Bactericidal activities correlated directly with permeabilization of live Escherichia coli, with equilibrium binding to E. coli membrane phospholipid bilayers and vesicles, and with induced graded fluorophore leakage from phospholipid vesicles. The Crp4 peptide N-terminus affects bactericidal activity modestly, apparently by influencing peptide binding to phospholipid bilayers and subsequent permeabilization of target cell membranes.

Electrostatically Controlled Interactions of Mouse Paneth Cell α-Defensins with Phospholipid Membranes

Antimicrobial peptides of the innate immune systems of many organisms are known to interact with lipid membranes, with electrostatic interactions playing an important role. We have studied the interactions of the mouse α-defensin, cryptdin-4, and its precursor, procryptdin-4, with phospholipid model membranes in the form of vesicles. Both peptides induce ‘graded’ leakage of vesicle contents, however procryptdin-4 exhibits only minimal membrane disruptive activity. Vesicles containing a higher fraction of anionic lipid are more susceptible to peptide-induced leakage. Electrophoretic mobility measurements at several vesicle compositions reveal a correlation between the surface potential of vesicles and the peptide-induced vesicle leakage.

Secretion of microbicidal |[alpha]|-defensins by intestinal Paneth cellsin response to bacteria

Paneth cells in mouse small intestinal crypts secrete granules rich in microbicidal peptides when exposed to bacteria or bacterial antigens. The dose-dependent secretion occurs within minutes and α-defensins, or cryptdins, account for 70% of the released bactericidal peptide activity. Gram-negative bacteria, Gram-positive bacteria, lipopolysaccharide, lipoteichoic acid, lipid A and muramyl dipeptide elicit cryptdin secretion. Live fungi and protozoa, however, do not stimulate degranulation. Thus intestinal Paneth cells contribute to innate immunity by sensing bacteria and bacterial antigens, and discharge microbicidal peptides at effective concentrations accordingly.