Abstract
Milk fat globule-EGF factor 8 (MFG-E8) has been shown to play an important role in maintaining the integrity of the intestinal mu-cosa and to accelerate healing of the mucosa in septic mice. Herein, we (a) analyzed the expression of MFG-E8 in the gut of wild-type (WT) C57BL/6 (MFG-E8+/+) mice with and without dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis, (b) characterized the pathological changes in intestinal mucosa of MFG-E8+/+ and MFG-E8-/- mice with DSS-induced colitis and (c) examined the therapeutic role of MFG-E8 in inflammatory bowel disease by using DSS-induced colitis model. Our data documented that there was an increase in colonic and rectal MFG-E8 expression in MFG-E8+/+ mice during the development of DSS colitis. MFG-E8 levels in both tissues decreased to below baseline during the recovery phase in mice with colitis. Changes in MFG-E8 gene expression correlated to the levels of inflammatory response and crypt-epithelial injury in both colonic and rectal mucosa in MFG-E8+/+ mice. MFG-E8-/- mice developed more severe crypt-epithelial injury than MFG-E8+/+ mice during exposure to DSS with delayed healing of intestinal epithelium during the recovery phase of DSS colitis. Administration of MFG-E8 during the recovery phase ameliorated colitis and promoted mucosal repair in both MFG-E8-/- and MFG-E8+/+ mice, indicating that lack of MFG-E8 causes increased susceptibility to colitis and delayed mucosal healing. These data suggest that MGF-E8 is an essential protective factor for gut epithelial homeosta-sis, and exogenous administration of MFG-E8 may represent a novel therapeutic target in inflammatory bowel disease.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 502-507 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | Molecular Medicine |
Volume | 17 |
Issue number | 5-6 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - May 2011 |
Funding
This work was supported in part by the Grant R01DK064240 (to X-D Tan) from National Institutes of Health, the Excellence in Academic Medicine Award from Illinois Department of Public Aid (to X-D Tan) and Eloise and Warren Batts Investigator Chair (to X-D Tan). We thank Barry D Shur (Emory University School of Medicine) for MFG-E8 deficient mouse colony.
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Genetics(clinical)
- Genetics
- Molecular Medicine
- Molecular Biology