Fiber-Mediated Nourishment of Gut Microbiota Protects against Diet-Induced Obesity by Restoring IL-22-Mediated Colonic Health.

Dietary supplementation with fermentable fiber suppresses adiposity and the associated parameters of metabolic syndrome. Microbiota-generated fiber-derived short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) and free fatty acid receptors including GPR43 are thought to mediate these effects. We find that while fermentable (inulin), but not insoluble (cellulose), fiber markedly protected mice against high-fat diet (HFD)-induced metabolic syndrome, the effect was not significantly impaired by either inhibiting SCFA production or genetic ablation of GPR43. Rather, HFD decimates gut microbiota, resulting in loss of enterocyte proliferation, leading to microbiota encroachment, low-grade inflammation (LGI), and metabolic syndrome. Enriching HFD with inulin restored microbiota loads, interleukin-22 (IL-22) production, enterocyte proliferation, and antimicrobial gene expression in a microbiota-dependent manner, as assessed by antibiotic and germ-free approaches. Inulin-induced IL-22 expression, which required innate lymphoid cells, prevented microbiota encroachment and protected against LGI and metabolic syndrome. Thus, fermentable fiber protects against metabolic syndrome by nourishing microbiota to restore IL-22-mediated enterocyte function.

Supplementation of Low- and High-fat Diets with Fermentable Fiber Exacerbates Severity of DSS-induced Acute Colitis.

BACKGROUND: Lack of dietary fiber has been suggested to increase the risk of developing various chronic inflammatory diseases, whereas supplementation of diets with fiber might offer an array of health-promoting benefits. Consistent with this theme, we recently reported that in mice, compositionally defined diets that are made with purified ingredients and lack fermentable fiber promote low-grade inflammation and metabolic syndrome, both of which could be ameliorated by supplementation of such diets with the fermentable fiber inulin. METHODS: Herein, we examined if, relative to a grain-based mouse diet (chow), compositionally defined diet consumption would impact development of intestinal inflammation induced by dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) and moreover, whether DSS-induced colitis might also be attenuated by diets supplemented with inulin. RESULTS: Analogous to their promotion of low-grade inflammation, compositionally defined diet of high- and low-fat content with cellulose increased the severity of DSS-induced colitis relative to chow. However, in contrast to the case of low-grade inflammation, addition of inulin, but not the insoluble fiber cellulose, further exacerbated the severity of colitis and its associated clinical manifestations (weight loss and bleeding) in both low- and high-fat diets. CONCLUSIONS: While inulin, and perhaps other fermentable fibers, can ameliorate low-grade inflammation and associated metabolic disease, it also has the potential to exacerbate disease severity in response to inducers of acute colitis.

Flagellin administration protects gut mucosal tissue from irradiation-induced apoptosis via MKP-7 activity.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Radiotherapy for neoplastic disease is associated with significant adverse enteric effects associated with excessive cell death. Ionising radiation induces cell death by a mechanism that is dependent on JNK (c-jun N-terminal kinase) pathway signalling. Additionally, it is known that cells exposed to extracellular bacterial products such as flagellin, pleiotropically activate a number of innate immune pathways, including that of JNK. The JNK pathway controls its own activity by inducing the transcription of mitogen-activated protein kinase phosphatase-7 (MKP-7) which directly targets phosphorylated JNK, thus functioning as a negative feedback loop. Previously, it has been shown that flagellin limits ionising radiation-induced mortality in mice, but the cellular mechanism of protection remained unknown. METHODS: Wild-type C57BL/6 or tlr5(-/-) C57BL/6 were injected with flagellin 2 h before exposure to irradiation, and their intestines were examined for apoptosis. Candidate proteins mediating cytoprotection from irradiation were identified by expression profiling. One of these candidates, MKP-7, was cloned and packaged into adenovirus particles, used to infect cultured cells, and examined for the extent to which its activity reduced cellular apoptosis by flow cytometry or immunoblot analysis. RESULTS: Flagellin pretreatment protected mice from radiation-induced intestinal mucosal injury and apoptosis via a Toll-like receptor 5 (TLR5)-dependent mechanism. Expression profiling of flagellin-treated mice showed upregulation of MKP-7, an inducible repressor of the JNK pathway. MKP-7 expression reached a maximum at 2 h after flagellin treatment, coinciding with suppression of phosphorylated JNK and JNK pathway inhibition. Furthermore, constitutive MKP-7 expression protected cultured cells from radiation-induced apoptosis. CONCLUSIONS: Flagellin is a promising adjuvant for suppressing ionising radiation-induced injury. MKP-7 activity exhibits cytoprotective effects, and is thus a candidate cellular molecule for limiting the damaging effect of radiotherapy on the gastreointestinal system.

Innate immunity in the retina: Toll-like receptor (TLR) signaling in human retinal pigment epithelial cells.

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are crucial components of innate immunity that participate in host defense against microbial pathogens. We evaluated the expression and function of TLRs in human retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells. Real time PCR analysis revealed gene expression for TLRs 1-7, 9, and 10 in RPE cells. TLRs 1 and 3 were the most highly expressed TLRs. Protein expression for TLRs 2, 3, and 4 was observed on RPE cells and this expression was augmented by treatment with poly I:C or interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma). TLR 3 is the receptor for dsRNA, an intermediate of virus replication. Because RPE cells express TLR 3 and are frequently the site of virus replication within the retina, we evaluated TLR 3 signaling. RPE cells treated with poly I:C produced IFN-beta but not IFN-alpha, and this was inhibited by the treatment of RPE cells with anti-TLR 3 antibody. Human recombinant IFN-beta was shown to be biologically active on RPE cells by inhibiting viral replication. Poly I:C treatment of RPE resulted in an increase in the production of IL-6, IL-8, MCP-1, and sICAM-1. The presence of TLRs on RPE cells and the resultant TLR signaling in RPE cells suggest that these molecules may play an important role in innate and adaptive immune responses within the retina.