Closure of superficial wounds in epithelia occurs by migration of cells shouldering the wound. We describe an in vitro model of such restitution using a human intestinal epithelial cell line, T84. T84 cells were grown on novel optically transparent type 1 collagen membranes without underlying filter supports. Monolayers so grown display substantial barrier function (400-500 ohm* cm2; 1.3±0.4 nm...

High levels of calcitonin (CT) observed in medullary thyroid carcinoma and other CT-secreting tumours cause severe diarrhoea. Previous studies have suggested that CT induces active chloride secretion. However, the involvement of CT receptor (CTR) and the molecular mechanisms underlying the modulation of intestinal electrolyte secreting intestinal epithelial cells have not been investigated. The...

Prostaglandin E(2) (PGE(2)) is a proinflammatory lipid mediator produced in excess in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). PGE(2) couples to and signals via four different E-prostanoid (EP) receptors, namely EP1, EP2, EP3, and EP4. In this study, we determined a role for PGE(2) and EP4 receptors in altering colonic epithelial barrier integrity. In healthy colonic mucosa, EP4 receptors were localiz...

Interferon gamma (IFNγ) is an important regulatory cytokine that can exert a pro-inflammatory effect in the gut, where it has been shown to increase epithelial permeability via disruption of the tight junctions. Here we investigated the potential for IFNγ to regulate the adherens junction protein E-cadherin, an important mediator of normal epithelial tissue function, using the model T84 human c...

Campomanesia adamantium (Myrtaceae) is a medicinal plant distributed in Brazilian Cerrado. Different parts of this plant are used in popular medicine for treatment of several diseases like fever, diarrhea, hypercholesterolemia and rheumatism. The aim of this work was to evaluate the inhibition of heat-stable enterotoxin type A (STa) by gallic acid present in the peel of C. adamantium fruit and ...

The expression of the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) gene can be down-regulated by inflammatory stimuli such as phorbol myristate acetate (PMA). Since the respiratory manifestations of cystic fibrosis (CF) are characterized by intense chronic airway inflammation very early in life, successful gene therapy for CF will require that expression of the transferred normal ...

cAMP-dependent phosphorylation activates the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) in epithelia. However, the protein phosphatase (PP) that dephosphorylates and inactivates CFTR in airway and intestinal epithelia, two major sites of disease, is not certain. We found that in airway and colonic epithelia, neither okadaic acid nor FK506 prevented inactivation of CFTR when cAMP...

Loss of function mutations in the actin motor myosin Vb (Myo5b) lead to microvillus inclusion disease (MVID) and death in newborns and children. MVID results in secretory diarrhea, brush border (BB) defects, villus atrophy, and microvillus inclusions (MVIs) in enterocytes. How loss of Myo5b results in increased stool loss of chloride (Cl(-)) and sodium (Na(+)) is unknown. The present study used...

PURPOSE Celiac disease (CD) is an autoimmune enteropathy, triggered by dietary gluten. The only treatment is a strict gluten-free diet. Oats are included in the list of gluten-free ingredients by European Regulation, but the safety of oats in CD is still a matter of debate. The present study examined the capability of different oat cultivars of activating the gliadin-induced transglutaminase-2 ...