Under conditions of starvation and disease, the gut barrier becomes impaired, and trophic feeding to prevent gut mucosal atrophy has become a standard treatment of critically ill patients. However, the mechanisms responsible for the beneficial effects of enteral nutrition have remained a mystery. Using in vitro and in vivo models, we demonstrate that the brush-border enzyme, intestinal alkaline phosphatase (IAP), has the ability to detoxify lipopolysaccharide and prevent bacterial invasion across the gut mucosal barrier. IAP expression and function are lost with starvation and maintained by enteral feeding. It is likely that the IAP silencing that occurs during starvation is a key component of the gut mucosal barrier dysfunction seen in critically ill patients.A mong the most critical functions of the mammalian gut mucosa is to provide a barrier to luminal microbes and toxins while simultaneously allowing for the necessary digestion and absorption of dietary nutrients. The molecular mechanisms that govern barrier function are incompletely understood, but it is clear that under conditions of starvation and disease, the gut barrier becomes impaired, leading to significant morbidity and mortality (1-8). Trophic enteral feeding to prevent gut mucosal atrophy and resultant barrier dysfunction has become part of the standard treatment of intensive care unit patients (9-14). The mechanism(s) responsible for the beneficial effects of trophic feeding are not understood.Intestinal alkaline phosphatase (IAP), a brush-border protein that hydrolyzes monophosphate esters, is expressed exclusively in villus-associated enterocytes and is considered an excellent marker for crypt-villus differentiation (15-18). Narisawa et al. (19) reported that compared with their wild-type (WT) littermates, mice lacking IAP gained more weight under conditions of a high-fat diet. In addition, several studies have shown that the IAP enzyme is capable of detoxifying LPS, likely through dephosphorylation of the lipid A moiety, the primary source of its endotoxic effects (20). Despite these few reports, the physiological role of IAP within the gut has not been elucidated. Results and DiscussionTo examine the functional role of IAP, we developed in vitro model systems using intestinal cell lines (T84, HT-29, and IEC-6) that express little or no IAP under basal conditions. Stable cell lines were created that overexpress IAP (Fig. 1A), and enzyme assays were used to determine the cellular localization of the ectopically expressed IAP protein. The results in Fig. 1B show that parent cells make little, if any, endogenous IAP. In contrast, large amounts of IAP enzyme are seen in the stably transfected cells. Importantly, the vast majority of the IAP activity is in the membrane fraction as opposed to the cytosol. Fig. 1C shows the results of the control experiment used to validate our separation of membranous and cytosolic fractions, confirming that the majority of the MAPK enzyme activity exists within the cytosol rather than the membrane. This membrane ...

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Laparoscopic distal pancreatectomy continues to compare favourably with ODP when well-matched patient series are reviewed. The results show a decreased need for blood transfusions and hospital resources in LDP. Additionally, there may be oncologic advantages associated with LDP compared with ODP in pancreatic malignancies.