In eukaryotic cells, perturbation of protein folding homeostasis in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) causes accumulation of unfolded and misfolded proteins in the ER lumen, which activates intracellular signaling pathways termed the unfolded protein response (UPR). Recent studies have linked ER stress and the UPR to inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The microenvironment of the ER is affected by a...

The intestinal epithelium possesses a remarkable self-renewal ability, which is mediated by actively proliferating Lgr5+ stem cells. Bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) signalling represents one major counterforce that limits the hyperproliferation of intestinal epithelium, but the exact mechanism remains elusive. Here we demonstrate that epithelial BMP signalling plays an indispensable role in re...

The integrity of intercellular junctions that form the "terminal bar" in intestinal epithelium is crucial for sealing the intestinal barrier. Whereas specific roles of tight and adherens junctions are well known, the contribution of desmosomal adhesion for maintaining the intestinal epithelial barrier has not been specifically addressed. For the present study, we generated a desmoglein 2 antibo...

Growth of human, but not porcine enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) isolates is inhibited during incubation with porcine intestinal epithelial cells and by a constitutively produced factor(s) present in unstimulated cell supernatants. The inhibitory factor(s) is heat stable, not produced by serum-starved cells, and is present in a diverse number of cultured epithelial cell lines of animal,...

Noroviruses (NoVs) are the causative agent of the vast majority of nonbacterial gastroenteritis worldwide. Due to the inability to culture human NoVs and the inability to orally infect a small animal model, little is known about the initial steps of viral entry. One particular step that is not understood is how NoVs breach the intestinal epithelial barrier. Murine NoV (MNV) is the only NoV that...

The intestinal epithelium continually self-renews and can rapidly regenerate after damage. Dysregulation of intestinal epithelial homeostasis leads to severe inflammatory bowel disease. Additionally, aberrant signaling by the secreted protein angiopoietin-like protein 2 (ANGPTL2) causes chronic inflammation in a variety of diseases. However, little is known about the physiologic role of ANGPTL2...

BACKGROUND Macrophages are key players in inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). This study aimed to determine site-specific effects of defined macrophage subtypes on the integrity of the intestinal epithelial barrier. METHODS Macrophage subtypes in situ in intestinal specimens of patients with IBD were visualized by immunohistochemistry. In vitro polarization of human peripheral CD14 cells yield...

BACKGROUND Notch signaling plays a critical role in the maintenance of intestinal crypt epithelial cell proliferation. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of Notch signaling in the proliferation and regeneration of intestinal epithelium after intestinal ischemia reperfusion (I/R) injury. METHODS Male Sprague-Dawley rats were subjected to sham operation or I/R by occlusion of the...

Babeu JP, Darsigny M, Lussier CR, Boudreau F. Hepatocyte nuclear factor 4 contributes to an intestinal epithelial phenotype in vitro and plays a partial role in mouse intestinal epithelium differentiation. Am J Physiol Gastrointest Liver Physiol 297: G124–G134, 2009. First published April 23, 2009; doi:10.1152/ajpgi.90690.2008.—Hepatocyte nuclear factor 4 (HNF4 ) is a regulator of hepatocyte an...

Intrinsic Notch signaling in intestinal epithelial cells restricts secretory cell differentiation. In gut-associated lymphoid tissue (GALT), stromal cells located beneath the follicle-associated epithelium (FAE) abundantly express the Notch ligand delta-like 1 (Dll1). Here, we show that mice lacking Rbpj-a gene encoding a transcription factor implicated in Notch signaling-in intestinal epitheli...