Ursodeoxycholic acid and lithocholic acid exert anti-inflammatory actions in the colon. 312: G550-G558, 2017. First published March 30, 2017; doi:10.1152/ajpgi.00256.2016.-Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) comprise a group of common and debilitating chronic intestinal disorders for which currently available therapies are often unsatisfactory. The naturally occurring secondary bile acid, ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA), has well-established anti-inflammatory and cytoprotective actions and may therefore be effective in treating IBD. We aimed to investigate regulation of colonic inflammatory responses by UDCA and to determine the potential impact of bacterial metabolism on its therapeutic actions. The anti-inflammatory efficacy of UDCA, a nonmetabolizable analog, 6α-methyl-UDCA (6-MUDCA), and its primary colonic metabolite lithocholic acid (LCA) was assessed in the murine dextran sodium sulfate (DSS) model of mucosal injury. The effects of bile acids on cytokine (TNF-α, IL-6, Il-1β, and IFN-γ) release from cultured colonic epithelial cells and mouse colonic tissue in vivo were investigated. Luminal bile acids were measured by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. UDCA attenuated release of proinflammatory cytokines from colonic epithelial cells in vitro and was protective against the development of colonic inflammation in vivo. In contrast, although 6-MUDCA mimicked the effects of UDCA on epithelial cytokine release in vitro, it was ineffective in preventing inflammation in the DSS model. In UDCA-treated mice, LCA became the most common colonic bile acid. Finally, LCA treatment more potently inhibited epithelial cytokine release and protected against DSS-induced mucosal inflammation than did UDCA. These studies identify a new role for the primary metabolite of UDCA, LCA, in preventing colonic inflammation and suggest that microbial metabolism of UDCA is necessary for the full expression of its protective actions. On the basis of its cytoprotective and anti-inflammatory actions, the secondary bile acid ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) has well-established uses in both traditional and Western medicine. We identify a new role for the primary metabolite of UDCA, lithocholic acid, as a potent inhibitor of intestinal inflammatory responses, and we present data to suggest that microbial metabolism of UDCA is necessary for the full expression of its protective effects against colonic inflammation.

The K + channel KCNQ1 has been proposed as a tumor suppressor in colorectal cancer (CRC). We investigated the molecular mechanisms regulating KCNQ1:β-catenin bidirectional interactions and their effects on CRC differentiation, proliferation, and invasion. Molecular and pharmacologic approaches were used to determine the influence of KCNQ1 expression on the Wnt/β-catenin signaling and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in human CRC cell lines of varying stages of differentiation. The expression of KCNQ1 was lost with increasing mesenchymal phenotype in poorly differentiated CRC cell lines as a consequence of repression of the KCNQ1 promoter by β-catenin:T-cell factor (TCF)-4. In welldifferentiated epithelial CRC cell lines, KCNQ1 was localized to the plasma membrane in a complex with β-catenin and E-cadherin. The colocalization of KCNQ1 with adherens junction proteins was lost with increasing EMT phenotype. ShRNA knock-down of KCNQ1 caused a relocalization of β-catenin from the plasma membrane and a loss of epithelial phenotype in CRC spheroids. Overexpression of KCNQ1 trapped β-catenin at the plasma membrane, induced a patent lumen in CRC spheroids, and slowed CRC cell invasion. The KCNQ1 ion channel inhibitor chromanol 293B caused membrane depolarization, redistribution of β-catenin into the cytosol, and a reduced transepithelial electrical resistance, and stimulated CRC cell proliferation. Analysis of human primary CRC tumor patient databases showed a positive correlation between KCNQ1:KCNE3 channel complex expression and disease-free survival. We conclude that the KCNQ1 ion channel is a target gene and regulator of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway, and its repression leads to CRC cell proliferation, EMT, and tumorigenesis.T he development of colorectal cancer (CRC) is determined by multiple factors including ion transport (1, 2). During the last 10 years, evidence for the role of K + channels in the development and growth of tumors has greatly expanded. Voltage-gated K + channels (Kv) are involved in the proliferation of many cell types, including intestinal cells. Although the recent literature clearly demonstrates that Kv channels are among the targets of interest in the fight against cancer (3-5), the specific role of each Kv channel in tumorigenesis and the molecular mechanisms involved are unknown. This is notably the case of the KCNQ1 K + channel. The KCNQ1 gene has recently been identified as a tumor suppressor in mouse and human CRC tissues (6). KCNQ1 deficiency in mice caused rectal adenomatous hyperplasia and progression to adenocarcinoma. A loss of imprinting of KCNQ1 has been described in CRC (7). However, the functional and molecular events linking KCNQ1 and CRC progression remain unclear. One obvious pathway, which may interact with KCNQ1, is Wnt/ β-catenin signaling, which plays a key role in driving early embryogenesis, as well as intestinal homeostasis and stem cell renewal in the intestinal mucosa epithelia (8). Deregulation of the β-catenin signaling axis is present in more than 80% of CRC...

In normal individuals, the epithelium of the colon absorbs 1.5–2 l of water a day to generate dehydrated feces. However, in the condition of bile acid malabsorption (BAM), an excess of bile acids in the colon results in diarrhea. Several studies have attempted to address the mechanisms contributing to BAM induced by various bile acids. However, none have addressed a potential dysregulation of aquaporin (AQP) water channels, which are responsible for the majority of transcellular water transport in epithelial cells, as a contributing factor to the onset of diarrhea and the pathogenesis of BAM. In this study, we aimed to systematically analyze the expression of AQPs in colonic epithelia from rat, mouse, and human and determine whether their expression is altered in a rat model of BAM. Mass spectrometry-based proteomics, RT-PCR, and western blotting identified various AQPs in isolated colonic epithelial cells from rats (AQP1, 3, 4, 7, 8) and mice (AQP1, 4, 8). Several AQPs were also detected in human colon (AQP1, 3, 4, 7–9). Immunohistochemistry localized AQP1 to the apical plasma membrane of epithelial cells in the bottom of the crypts, whereas AQP3 (rat, human) and AQP4 (mice, human) were localized predominantly in the basolateral plasma membrane. AQP8 was localized intracellularly and at the apical plasma membrane of epithelial cells. Rats fed sodium cholate for 72 h had significantly increased fecal water content, suggesting development of BAM-associated diarrhea. Colonic epithelial cells isolated from this model had significantly altered levels of AQP3, 7, and 8, suggesting that these AQPs may be involved in the pathogenesis of bile acid-induced diarrhea.