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Biomedical subjects

I S Wood

Publications and source records attributed to I S Wood.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Signalling role of adipose tissue: adipokines and inflammation in obesity.

White adipose tissue (WAT) is a major endocrine and secretory organ, which releases a wide range of protein signals and factors termed adipokines. A number of adipokines, including leptin, adiponectin, tumour necrosis factor alpha, IL-1beta (interleukin 1beta), IL-6, monocyte chemotactic protein-1, macrophage migration inhibitory factor, nerve growth factor, vascular endothelial growth factor, plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 and haptoglobin, are linked to inflammation and the inflammatory response. Obesity is characterized by a state of chronic mild inflammation, with raised circulating levels of inflammatory markers and the expression and release of inflammation-related adipokines generally rises as adipose tissue expands (adiponectin, which has anti-inflammatory action is an exception). The elevated production of inflammation-related adipokines is increasingly considered to be important in the development of diseases linked to obesity, particularly Type II diabetes and the metabolic syndrome. WAT is involved in extensive cross-talk with other organs and multiple metabolic systems through the various adipokines.

Adipose Tissue↗

Adipokine gene expression in dog adipose tissues and dog white adipocytes differentiated in primary culture.

Obesity and its associated disorders are increasing in companion animals, particularly in dogs. We have investigated whether genes encoding key adipokines, some of which are implicated in the pathologies linked to obesity, are expressed in canine adipose tissues. Using RT-PCR, mRNAs encoding the following adipokines were detected in dog white adipose tissue: adiponectin, leptin, angiotensinogen, plasminogen activator inhibitor-1, IL-6, haptoglobin, metallothionein-1 and 2, and nerve growth factor. The adipokine mRNAs were present in all fat depots examined. Fractionation of adipose tissue by collagenase digestion showed that each gene was expressed in mature adipocytes. The mRNA for TNFalpha was not evident in adipose tissue, but was detected in isolated adipocytes. Fibroblastic preadipocytes from gonadal white fat were differentiated into adipocytes in primary culture and adipokine expression examined before and after differentiation (days 0 and 11, respectively). Each adipokine gene expressed in dog white adipocytes was also expressed in the differentiated cells. These results demonstrate that dog white adipose tissue expresses major adipokine genes, expression being in the adipocytes. Investigation of adipokine production and function will provide insight into the mechanisms involved in obesity-related pathologies in dogs and serve as a model for the related human diseases.

Adipocytes↗

Molecular changes in the expression of human colonic nutrient transporters during the transition from normality to malignancy.

Healthy colonocytes derive 60-70% of their energy supply from short-chain fatty acids, particularly butyrate. Butyrate has profound effects on differentiation, proliferation and apoptosis of colonic epithelial cells by regulating expression of various genes associated with these processes. We have previously shown that butyrate is transported across the luminal membrane of the colonic epithelium via a monocarboxylate transporter, MCT1. In this paper, using immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridisation histochemistry, we have determined the profile of MCT1 protein and mRNA expression along the crypt to surface axis of healthy human colonic tissue. There is a gradient of MCT1 protein expression in the apical membrane of the cells along the crypt-surface axis rising to a peak in the surface epithelial cells. MCT1 mRNA is expressed along the crypt-surface axis and is most abundant in cells lining the crypt. Analysis of healthy colonic tissues and carcinomas using immunohistochemistry and Western blotting revealed a significant decline in the expression of MCT1 protein during transition from normality to malignancy. This was reflected in a corresponding reduction in MCT1 mRNA expression, as measured by Northern analysis. Carcinoma samples displaying reduced levels of MCT1 were found to express the high affinity glucose transporter, GLUT1, suggesting that there is a switch from butyrate to glucose as an energy source in colonic epithelia during transition to malignancy. The expression levels of MCT1 in association with GLUT1 could potentially be used as determinants of the malignant state of colonic tissue.

Aged↗

Expression of monosaccharide transporters in intestine of diabetic humans.

Noninsulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) is an increasingly common disease, which brings a number of life-threatening complications. In rats with experimentally induced diabetes, there is an increase in the capacity of the intestine to absorb monosaccharides. We have examined the activity and the expression of monosaccharide transporters in the intestine of patients suffering from NIDDM. Na(+)-dependent D-glucose transport was 3.3-fold higher in brush-border membrane (BBM) vesicles isolated from duodenal biopsies of NIDDM patients compared with healthy controls. Western analysis indicated that SGLT1 and GLUT5 protein levels were also 4.3- and 4.1-fold higher in diabetic patients. This was associated with threefold increases in SGLT1 and GLUT5 mRNA measured by Northern blotting. GLUT2 mRNA levels were also increased threefold in the intestine of diabetic patients. Analysis of other BBM proteins indicated that the activity and abundance of sucrase and lactase were increased by 1.5- to 2-fold and the level of the structural proteins villin and beta-actin was enhanced 2-fold in diabetic patients compared with controls. The increase in the capacity of the intestine to absorb monosaccharides in human NIDDM is due to a combination of intestinal structural change with a specific increase in the expression of the monosaccharide transporters SGLT1, GLUT5, and GLUT2.

Actins↗

Transcriptional regulation of the ovine intestinal Na+/glucose cotransporter SGLT1 gene. Role of HNF-1 in glucose activation of promoter function.

Dietary sugars D-glucose and D-galactose are transported across the intestinal brush-border membrane by the Na+/glucose cotransporter, SGLT1. In various species studied, it has been shown that the activity, and expression, of intestinal SGLT1 is regulated by dietary sugars. We report in this paper that regulation of the intestinal SGLT1 gene by lumenal sugar is due, in part, to an increase in transcription. Using deletion analyses of the -66/+21-bp fragment, we have identified the minimal region of the ovine SGLT1 promoter able to support transcription. Site-directed mutagenesis of the hepatic nuclear factor-1 (HNF-1) consensus motif within this domain eliminates basal promoter function. In addition, we show direct evidence for glucose-induced activation of the -66/+21-bp promoter region. There is a co-ordinated decline in the abundance of ovine intestinal HNF-1 and SGLT1 transcripts during transition from preruminant to adult ruminant. This decline is recovered after glucose infusion of adult sheep intestine. Similarly, as shown using DNA mobility-shift assays, the intensity of the HNF-1-binding complex to the target promoter sequence decreases during maturation of the animal; this is restored after intestinal sugar infusion. These data indicate that HNF-1 plays an important role in the glucose responsiveness of the ovine SGLT1 gene. This is the first report of in vitro glucose-induced activation of the intestinal SGLT1 promoter and identification of a glucose-responsive region of the ovine SGLT1 promoter.

Animals↗

Expression of the Na+/glucose co-transporter (SGLT1) in the intestine of domestic and wild ruminants.

The activity and abundance of the Na+/glucose co-transporter (SGLT1) was assessed in brush-border-membrane vesicles (BBMV) isolated from the intestine of grass- and roughage- (GR) consuming ruminants (sheep and dairy cattle), during the transition from the pre-ruminant to the mature ruminant state. The abundance of SGLT1 messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) was also compared in the intestinal tissue of the same animals. The dramatic developmental decline in the activity and expression of SGLT1 appears to be typical of GR-consuming ruminants and is coincident with the significant decline in the levels of lumenal monosaccharides. Expression of the ovine SGLT1 complementary deoxyribonucleic acid (cDNA) in Xenopus laevis oocytes confirmed that the isolated cDNA encodes for a functional Na+/glucose co-transporter. Determination of a bovine intestinal SGLT1 protein sequence (amino acids 347-658) indicated 99% similarity to the ovine SGLT1 protein with differences in the carboxyl terminus. In contrast to GR-consuming ruminants, the abundance of SGLT1 protein and SGLT1 mRNA remained significantly high in the intestine of ruminants in both the intermediate-mixed (IM) feeding goat and fallow deer and the concentrate-selecting (CS) moose and roe deer, dietary groups correlating with the availability of monosaccharides in the intestinal lumen.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Isolation and characterization of a genomic region upstream from the ovine Na+/d-glucose cotransporter (SGLT1) cDNA.

d-Glucose and non-metabolisable analogues of D-glucose regulate the expression of intestinal SGLT1 at both transcriptional and post-transcriptional levels. In order to investigate the molecular mechanisms involved in the transcriptional regulation of the ovine intestinal SGLT1 gene, we have isolated an upstream element of about 1 kb in size. This DNA fragment contains a TATA box motif, 48 bp upstream of the transcriptional start site and includes transcription factor binding sites for HNF-1 and AP-2. We have shown that the ovine SGLT1 promoter fragment can drive the transcription of a reporter gene when transfected into the epithelial cell lines STC-1 and LLC-PK1, which endogenously express SGLT1. Deletion analyses of the promoter indicate that -66/+21 bp proximal sequence directs the highest level of reporter gene activity. There are one and possibly two sites of transcriptional suppression.

5' Untranslated Regions↗

Identification and characterization of a monocarboxylate transporter (MCT1) in pig and human colon: its potential to transport L-lactate as well as butyrate.

1. Oligonucleotide primers based on the human heart monocarboxylate transporter (MCT1) cDNA sequence were used to isolate a 544 bp cDNA product from human colonic RNA by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The sequence of the RT-PCR product was identical to that of human heart MCT1. Northern blot analysis using the RT-PCR product indicated the presence of a single transcript of 3.3 kb in mRNA isolated from both human and pig colonic tissues. Western blot analysis using an antibody to human MCT1 identified a specific protein with an apparent molecular mass of 40 kDa in purified and well-characterized human and pig colonic lumenal membrane vesicles (LMV). 2. Properties of the colonic lumenal membrane L-lactate transporter were studied by the uptake of L-[U-14C]lactate into human and pig colonic LMV. L-Lactate uptake was stimulated in the presence of an outward-directed anion gradient at an extravesicular pH of 5.5. Transport of L-lactate into anion-loaded colonic LMV appeared to be via a proton-activated, anion exchange mechanism. 3. L-Lactate uptake was inhibited by pyruvate, butyrate, propionate and acetate, but not by Cl- and SO4(2-). The uptake of L-lactate was inhibited by phloretin, mercurials and alpha-cyano-4-hydroxycinnamic acid (4-CHC), but not by the stilbene anion exchange inhibitors, 4,4'-diisothiocyanostilbene-2, 2'-disulphonic acid (DIDS) and 4-acetamido-4'-isothiocyanostilbene-2, 2'-disulphonic acid (SITS). 4. The results indicate the presence of a MCT1 protein on the lumenal membrane of the colon that is involved in the transport of L-lactate as well as butyrate across the colonic lumenal membrane. Western blot analysis showed that the abundance of this protein decreases in lumenal membrane fractions isolated from colonic carcinomas compared with that detected in the normal healthy colonic tissue.

4,4'-Diisothiocyanostilbene-2,2'-Disulfonic Acid↗

In birds, NHE2 is major brush-border Na+/H+ exchanger in colon and is increased by a low-NaCl diet.

We previously reported that mammalian small intestinal and colonic brush borders (BBs) contained both epithelial Na+/H+ exchangers NHE2 and NHE3. We now show that, in the avian (chicken) colon, NHE2 is the major functional isoform under basal conditions and when stimulated by a low-NaCl diet. Hubbard chickens were maintained for 2 wk on a high- or low-NaCl diet. After the chickens were killed, the ileum and colon were removed, and BBs were prepared by Mg2+ precipitation and 22Na and D-[14C]glucose uptake determined in the BB vesicles. NHE2 and NHE3 were separated by differential sensitivity to HOE-694 (NHE2 defined as Na+/H+ exchange inhibited by 50 microM HOE-694). Chickens on a low-Na+ diet have increased plasma aldosterone (10 vs. 207 pg/ml). On the high-NaCl diet, both NHE2 and NHE3 contributed to ileal and colonic apical Na+/H+ exchange, contributing equally in ileum, but NHE2 being the major component in colon (86%). Low-NaCl diet significantly increased ileal and colonic BB Na+/H+ exchange; the increase in BB Na+/H+ exchange in both ileum and colon was entirely due to an increase in NHE2 with no change in NHE3 activity. In contrast, low-NaCl diet decreased ileal and colonic Na+-dependent D-glucose uptake. Western analysis showed that low-Na+ diet increased the amount of NHE2 in the ileal and colonic BB and decreased the amount of ileal Na+-dependent glucose transporter SGLT1. Both NHE2 and NHE3 were present in the apical but not basolateral membranes (BLM) of ileal and colonic epithelial cells. In summary, 1) NHE2 and NHE3 are both present in the BB and not BLM of chicken ileum and colon; 2) NHE2 is the major physiological colonic BB Na+/H+ exchanger under basal conditions; 3) low-NaCl diet, which increases plasma aldosterone, increases ileal and colonic BB Na+/H+ exchange and decreases Na+-dependent D-glucose uptake; 4) the stimulation of colonic BB Na+/H+ exchange is due to increased activity and amount of NHE2; and 5) the inhibition of ileal D-glucose uptake is associated with a decrease in SGLT1 amount. NHE2 is the major chicken colonic BB Na+/H+ exchanger.

Animals↗