ABSTRACT
AIM: To study the expression of endothelial and inducible nitric oxide synthases (eNOS and iNOS) and their role in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). METHODS: We examined the effect of sera obtained from patients with active Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) on the function and viability of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC). HUVECs were cultured for 0-48 h in the presence of a medium containing pooled serum of healthy controls, or serum from patients with active CD or UC. Expression of eNOS and iNOS was visualized by immunofluorescence, and quantified by the densitometry of Western blots. Proliferation activity was assessed by computerized image analyses of Ki-67 immunoreactive cells, and also tested in the presence of the NOS inhibitor, 10(-4) mol/L L-NAME. Apoptosis and necrosis was examined by the annexin-V-biotin method and by propidium iodide staining, respectively. RESULTS: In HUVEC immediately after exposure to UC, serum eNOS was markedly induced, reaching a peak at 12 h. In contrast, a decrease in eNOS was observed after incubation with CD sera and the eNOS level was minimal at 20 h compared to control (18%+/-16% vs 23%+/-15% P<0.01). UC or CD serum caused a significant increase in iNOS compared to control (UC: 300%+/-21%; CD: 275%+/-27% vs 108%+/-14%, P<0.01). Apoptosis/necrosis characteristics did not differ significantly in either experiment. Increased proliferation activity was detected in the presence of CD serum or after treatment with L-NAME. Cultures showed tube-like formations after 24 h treatment with CD serum. CONCLUSION: IBD sera evoked changes in the ratio of eNOS/iNOS, whereas did not influence the viability of HUVEC. These involved down-regulation of eNOS and up-regulation of iNOS simultaneously, leading to increased proliferation activity and possibly a reduced anti-inflammatory protection of endothelial cells.
Subject(s)
Endothelium, Vascular/physiology , Inflammatory Bowel Diseases/physiopathology , Nitric Oxide Synthase Type III/genetics , Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II/genetics , Umbilical Veins/enzymology , Adolescent , Adult , Apoptosis , Blotting, Western , Cell Proliferation , Cell Survival , Cells, Cultured , Colitis, Ulcerative/blood , Colitis, Ulcerative/physiopathology , Crohn Disease/blood , Crohn Disease/physiopathology , Culture Media, Conditioned , Endothelial Cells/enzymology , Endothelium, Vascular/enzymology , Female , Fluorescent Antibody Technique , Gene Expression Regulation, Enzymologic , Humans , Inflammatory Bowel Diseases/blood , Male , Middle Aged , NG-Nitroarginine Methyl Ester/pharmacology , Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II/antagonists & inhibitors , Nitric Oxide Synthase Type III/antagonists & inhibitors , Umbilical Veins/cytologyABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: The role of nitric oxide (NO) in the pathophysiology of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is controversial. The aim of this study was to investigate the expression and localization of nitric oxide synthase isoforms (iNOS, eNOS) in IBD colonic mucosa. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Forty-four patients with IBD (24 ulcerative colitis (UC), 20 Crohn's disease (CD) and 16 controls) were investigated by colonoscopy. iNOS and eNOS in tissue sections was demonstrated by histochemistry (NADPH-diaphorase reaction) and immunohistochemistry. Cell type analysis and quantitative assessment of the iNOS immunoreactive (IR) cells and densitometry of iNOS in immunoblots were also performed. RESULTS: iNOS-IR cells were significantly numerous in inflamed mucosa of UC (64+/-4 cells/mm2) than in CD (4+/-2 cells/mm2). iNOS-IR/CD15-IR cells showed significant elevation in inflamed (i) versus uninflamed (u) UC mucosa (UCu 8+/-3%, UCi 85+/-10%) In CD, the percentage of iNOS-IR/CD68-IR cells was lower in inflamed sites (CDu 23+/-8%, CDi 4+/-3%). Immunoblot of biopsies revealed significant elevation of iNOS in active UC compared with uninflamed sites, whereas in CD no significant changes were detected. Differences were observed in eNOS and endothelial marker CD31 immunoreactivity. In patients with UC and in controls the ratios of eNOS/CD31-IR vessels were 82.3% and 92.0% respectively, whereas in CD the ratio was 8.3% with a concomitantly significant increase of CD31-IR vessels. The distribution and morphological characteristics of the NOS-IR inflammatory cells and endothelia were similar to those showing NADPH-diaphorase reactivity. CONCLUSIONS: Differences observed in the expression and distribution of NOS isoforms in immune and endothelial cells may contribute to better understanding of the structural and physiological changes in UC and CD.
