title: Expression of alkaline sphingomyelinase in yeast cells and anti-inflammatory effects of the expressed enzyme in a rat colitis model.
abstract: Alkaline sphingomyelinase (Alk-SMase) is a key enzyme in the intestinal tract for digestion of dietary sphingomyelin (SM), which generates lipid messengers with cell-cycle regulating effects. The enzyme is significantly decreased in ulcerative colitis and colon cancer. Based on this information, we wanted to investigate whether the enzyme had preventive effects against murine colitis. We report herein a method to express a biologically active Alk-SMase from Pichia pastoris yeast cells. By using the expressed enzyme to treat a rat colitis model induced by dextran sulfate sodium, we found that intrarectal instillation of Alk-SMase once daily for 1 week significantly reduced the inflammation score and protected the colonic epithelium from inflammatory destruction. We found a tendency for decreased tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha expression in the Alk-SMase-treated group. This study, for the first time, provides a method to produce the enzyme and shows the potential applicability of the enzyme in the treatment of inflammatory bowel diseases.
authors.affiliation: Gastroenterology Laboratory, Institution of Clinical Science, Biomedical Center, B11, Lund University, 22184, Lund, Sweden.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Andersson
authors.forename: Knut
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kotarsky
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: William
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Agace
authors.forename: Rui-Dong
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Duan
mesh_terms: D000285:Administration, Rectal; D000818:Animals; D003092:Colitis / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000473:pathology; D003106:Colon / Q000473:pathology; D016264:Dextran Sulfate / Q000009:adverse effects; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005260:Female; D007249:Inflammation / Q000517:prevention & control; D007413:Intestinal Mucosa / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology; D010843:Pichia / Q000166:cytology; D010865:Pilot Projects; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D013108:Sphingomyelin Phosphodiesterase / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000494:pharmacology; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha; D016264:Dextran Sulfate; C508908:ENPP7 protein, human; D013108:Sphingomyelin Phosphodiesterase