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Disruption of GPR35 Exacerbates Dextran Sulfate Sodium-Induced Colitis in Mice

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Abstract

Background

G protein-coupled receptor 35 (GPR35) is an orphan receptor and is vastly expressed in immune cells and gastrointestinal cells, suggesting the potential physiological importance of GPR35 in these cells. Here, we tested the hypothesis that the lack of GPR35 expression in the colon mucosa exacerbates the severity of dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced experimental colitis in mice.

Methods

Colitis was induced in GPR35 wild-type (GPR35+/+) and GPR35 knockout (GPR35−/−) mice through the administration of DSS in drinking water for 5 days followed by regular facility water for 1 day. Induction of colitis was evaluated by measuring relative body weight loss, clinical illness scores, and morphological changes in the colon. Abolition of Gpr35 gene expression in the colon mucosa of GPR35−/− mice was confirmed by quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR). Gene expressions of inflammatory and tissue remodeling cytokines were detected by qPCR. Human colorectal epithelial Caco cells were transfected with siRNA against GPR35 before treated with 1% DSS in vitro. Protein expressions were measured using Western blot.

Results

GPR35−/− mice receiving DSS showed a significantly worsened colitis disease with profound loss of body weight and a considerable amount of severe clinical illness compared to GPR35+/+ mice that received DSS. The histology of colon sections from GPR35−/− mice showed extensive pathological changes including submucosal edema, diffuse ulcerations, and evidence of complete loss of crypts compared to wild-type mice. The mean histopathological score was significantly higher in GPR35−/− mice as compared to GPR35+/+ mice. The qPCR data revealed significant expression of pro-inflammatory and tissue remodeling cytokines in GPR35−/− colon mucosa, including IL-1β, CXCL1, CXCL2, CCL2, HMGB1, TGFβ1, TGFβ3, MMP1/9/12. The protein expressions of Zonula occludens-1, E-cadherin, Claudin1 were decreased upon knocking down GPR35 with or without 1% DSS treatment.

Conclusions

Our experimental data suggest that lack of GPR35 resulted in worsened disease outcome in DSS-induced experimental colitis, indicating that GPR35 could play a crucial role in protecting from colonic inflammation and serve as a therapeutic target.

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Abbreviations

cDNA:

Complementary deoxyribonucleic acid

CXCL17:

C-X-C motif chemokine 17

DSS:

Dextran sulfate sodium

GPR35:

G protein-coupled receptor 35

HEK 293 cells:

Human embryonic kidney cells 293

KO:

Knockout

KYNA:

Kynurenic acid

LPA:

Lysophosphatidic acid

PCR:

Polymerase chain reaction

RNA:

Ribonucleic acid

WT:

Wild type

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Acknowledgments

We thank the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute Mouse Genetics Project (Sanger MGP) and its funders for providing the mutant mouse line (Allele: GPR35) and INFRAFRONTIER/EMMA (www.infrafrontier.eu). Funding information may be found at www.sanger.ac.uk/mouseportal and associated primary phenotypic information at www.mousephenotype.org.

Funding

This work was supported in part by American Heart Association Scientist Development Grant 13SDG16930098 (to J.M.W.), NIH/NIDDK R01 DK109036 (To J.M.W.), Wayne State University Faculty Start-up Fund (To J.M.W.), and NIH/NHLBI R01 HL128647 (To C.L.).

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Correspondence to Chunying Li or Jie-Mei Wang.

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No conflicts of interest, financial or otherwise, are declared by the authors.

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Farooq, S.M., Hou, Y., Li, H. et al. Disruption of GPR35 Exacerbates Dextran Sulfate Sodium-Induced Colitis in Mice. Dig Dis Sci 63, 2910–2922 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10620-018-5216-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10620-018-5216-z

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