title: LPS-induced IL-8 activation in human intestinal epithelial cells is accompanied by specific histone H3 acetylation and methylation changes.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The release of LPS by bacteria stimulates both immune and specific epithelial cell types to release inflammatory mediators. It is known that LPS induces the release of IL-8 by intestinal mucosal cells. Because it is now emerging that bacteria may induce alteration of epigenetic patterns in host cells, we have investigated whether LPS-induced IL-8 activation in human intestinal epithelial cells involves changes of histone modifications and/or DNA methylation at IL-8 gene regulatory region.
  
  
  RESULTS
  RT-PCR analysis showed that IL-8 mRNA levels rapidly increase after exposure of HT-29 cells to LPS. DNA demethylating agents had no effects on IL-8 expression, suggesting that DNA methylation was not involved in IL-8 gene regulation. Consistently we found that 5 CpG sites located around IL-8 transcription start site (-83, -7, +73, +119, +191) were unmethylated on both lower and upper strand either in LPS treated or in untreated HT-29 cells, as well as in normal intestinal mucosa.Conversely, pretreatment of HT-29 cells with deacetylase inhibitors strengthened the LPS-mediated IL-8 activation. Inhibitors of histone deacetylases could induce IL-8 mRNA expression also in the absence of LPS, suggesting that chromatin modifications could be involved in IL-8 gene regulation. Chromatin immunoprecipitation analyses showed that, concurrently with IL-8 activation, transient specific changes in H3 acetylation and H3K4, H3K9 and H3K27 methylation occurred at IL-8 gene promoter during LPS stimulation. Changes of H3-acetyl, H3K4me2 and H3K9me2 levels occurred early, transiently and corresponded to transcriptional activity, while changes of H3K27me3 levels at IL-8 gene occurred later and were long lasting.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results showed that specific chromatin modifications occurring at IL-8 gene, including histone H3 acetylation and methylation, mark LPS-mediated IL-8 activation in intestinal epithelial cells while it is unlikely that DNA methylation of IL-8 promoter is directly involved in IL-8 gene regulation in these cells.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Biologia e Patologia Cellulare e Molecolare "L, Califano", Facoltà di Farmacia e Facoltà di Scienze Biotecnologiche, Università degli Studi di Napoli "Federico II", Via S, Pansini 5, Naples, 80131, Italy.
authors.forename: Tiziana
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Angrisano
authors.forename: Raffaela
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Pero
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Peluso
authors.forename: Simona
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Keller
authors.forename: Silvana
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sacchetti
authors.forename: Carmelo B
authors.initials: CB
authors.lastname: Bruni
authors.forename: Lorenzo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chiariotti
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Lembo
mesh_terms: D000107:Acetylation; D004847:Epithelial Cells / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism*; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D019073:HT29 Cells; D006657:Histones / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D016209:Interleukin-8 / Q000378:metabolism*; D007413:Intestinal Mucosa / Q000166:cytology; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008745:Methylation
chemical_list: D006657:Histones; D016209:Interleukin-8; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides