Fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) blockade ameliorates experimental colitis by altering microRNA expression and suppressing inflammation.
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), including Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC), which is thought to result from immune-mediated inflammatory disorders, leads to high morbidity and health care cost. Fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) is an enzyme crucially involved in the modulation of intestinal physiology through anandamide (AEA) and other endocannabinoids. Here we examined the effects of an FAAH inhibitor (FAAH-II), on dextran sodium sulphate (DSS)-induced experimental colitis in mice. Treatments with FAAH-II improved overall clinical scores by reversing weight loss and colitis-associated pathogenesis. The frequencies of activated CD4+T cells in spleens, mesenteric lymph nodes (MLNs), Peyer's patches (PPs), and colon lamina propiria (LP) were reduced by FAAH inhibition. Similarly, the frequencies of macrophages, neutrophils, natural killer (NK), and NKT cells in the PPs and LP of mice with colitis declined after FAAH blockade, as did concentrations of systemic and colon inflammatory cytokines. Microarray analysis showed that 26 miRNAs from MLNs and 217 from PPs had a 1.5-fold greater difference in expression after FAAH inhibition. Among them, 8 miRNAs were determined by reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis to have anti-inflammatory properties. Pathway analysis demonstrated that differentially regulated miRNAs target mRNA associated with inflammation. Thus, FAAH-II ameliorates experimental colitis by reducing not only the number of activated T cells but also the frequency of macrophages, neutrophils, and NK/NKT cell, as well as inflammatory miRNAs and cytokine at effector sites in the colon. These studies demonstrate for the first time that FAAH-II inhibitor may suppress colitis through regulation of pro-inflammatory miRNAs expression.
Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology, School of Medicine, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208, USA.
Haidar
H
Shamran
Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology, School of Medicine, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208, USA.
Narendra P
NP
Singh
Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology, School of Medicine, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208, USA.
Elizabeth E
EE
Zumbrun
Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology, School of Medicine, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208, USA.
Angela
A
Murphy
Center for Translational Studies, Medical Services, VA Medical Center, Department of Veteran Affairs, Washington, DC, USA.
Dennis D
DD
Taub
Department of Math and Sciences, Alabama State University 1627 Hall St., Montgomery, AL 36104, USA.
Manoj K
MK
Mishra
Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208, USA.
Robert L
RL
Price
Department of Environmental Health Sciences, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208, USA.
Saurabh
S
Chatterjee
Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology, School of Medicine, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208, USA.
Mitzi
M
Nagarkatti
Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology, School of Medicine, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208, USA.
Prakash S
PS
Nagarkatti
Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology, School of Medicine, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208, USA. Electronic address: udai.singh@uscmed.sc.edu.
Udai P
UP
Singh
D000581:Amidohydrolases / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors*; D000818:Animals; D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D003092:Colitis / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000473:pathology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D003106:Colon / Q000473:pathology; D016264:Dextran Sulfate; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D015212:Inflammatory Bowel Diseases / Q000517:prevention & control; D007413:Intestinal Mucosa / Q000473:pathology; D008264:Macrophages / Q000187:drug effects; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000187:drug effects; D015431:Weight Loss / Q000187:drug effects; D000099252:Fatty Acid Amide Hydrolases
D000581:Amidohydrolases; D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents; D016264:Dextran Sulfate; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D000099252:Fatty Acid Amide Hydrolases
Colitis; FAAH; Inflammation; Inflammatory bowel disease; MicroRNAs