Tumor Necrosis Factor Induces Developmental Stage-Dependent Structural Changes in the Immature Small Intestine

Background. Premature infants are commonly subject to intestinal inflammation. Since the human small intestine does not reach maturity until term gestation, premature infants have a unique challenge, as either acute or chronic inflammation may alter the normal development of the intestinal tract. Tu...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Kathryn S. Brown, Huiyu Gong, Mark R. Frey, Brock Pope, Matthew Golden, Katerina Martin, Mitchel Obey, Steven J. McElroy
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2014-01-01
Series:Mediators of Inflammation
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2014/852378
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1832563818059792384
author Kathryn S. Brown
Huiyu Gong
Mark R. Frey
Brock Pope
Matthew Golden
Katerina Martin
Mitchel Obey
Steven J. McElroy
author_facet Kathryn S. Brown
Huiyu Gong
Mark R. Frey
Brock Pope
Matthew Golden
Katerina Martin
Mitchel Obey
Steven J. McElroy
author_sort Kathryn S. Brown
collection DOAJ
description Background. Premature infants are commonly subject to intestinal inflammation. Since the human small intestine does not reach maturity until term gestation, premature infants have a unique challenge, as either acute or chronic inflammation may alter the normal development of the intestinal tract. Tumor necrosis factor (TNF) has been shown to acutely alter goblet cell numbers and villus length in adult mice. In this study we tested the effects of TNF on villus architecture and epithelial cells at different stages of development of the immature small intestine. Methods. To examine the effects of TNF-induced inflammation, we injected acute, brief, or chronic exposures of TNF in neonatal and juvenile mice. Results. TNF induced significant villus blunting through a TNF receptor-1 (TNFR1) mediated mechanism, leading to loss of villus area. This response to TNFR1 signaling was altered during intestinal development, despite constant TNFR1 protein expression. Acute TNF-mediated signaling also significantly decreased Paneth cells. Conclusions. Taken together, the morphologic changes caused by TNF provide insight as to the effects of inflammation on the developing intestinal tract. Additionally, they suggest a mechanism which, coupled with an immature immune system, may help to explain the unique susceptibility of the immature intestine to inflammatory diseases such as NEC.
format Article
id doaj-art-0020bb3defff47f5b6f45e4d9de92b21
institution Kabale University
issn 0962-9351
1466-1861
language English
publishDate 2014-01-01
publisher Wiley
record_format Article
series Mediators of Inflammation
spelling doaj-art-0020bb3defff47f5b6f45e4d9de92b212025-02-03T01:12:28ZengWileyMediators of Inflammation0962-93511466-18612014-01-01201410.1155/2014/852378852378Tumor Necrosis Factor Induces Developmental Stage-Dependent Structural Changes in the Immature Small IntestineKathryn S. Brown0Huiyu Gong1Mark R. Frey2Brock Pope3Matthew Golden4Katerina Martin5Mitchel Obey6Steven J. McElroy7Department of Pediatrics, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USADepartment of Pediatrics, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USADepartments of Pediatrics and Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine and The Saban Research Institute at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90027, USADepartment of Pediatrics, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USADepartment of Pediatrics, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USADepartment of Pediatrics, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USADepartment of Pediatrics, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USADepartment of Pediatrics, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USABackground. Premature infants are commonly subject to intestinal inflammation. Since the human small intestine does not reach maturity until term gestation, premature infants have a unique challenge, as either acute or chronic inflammation may alter the normal development of the intestinal tract. Tumor necrosis factor (TNF) has been shown to acutely alter goblet cell numbers and villus length in adult mice. In this study we tested the effects of TNF on villus architecture and epithelial cells at different stages of development of the immature small intestine. Methods. To examine the effects of TNF-induced inflammation, we injected acute, brief, or chronic exposures of TNF in neonatal and juvenile mice. Results. TNF induced significant villus blunting through a TNF receptor-1 (TNFR1) mediated mechanism, leading to loss of villus area. This response to TNFR1 signaling was altered during intestinal development, despite constant TNFR1 protein expression. Acute TNF-mediated signaling also significantly decreased Paneth cells. Conclusions. Taken together, the morphologic changes caused by TNF provide insight as to the effects of inflammation on the developing intestinal tract. Additionally, they suggest a mechanism which, coupled with an immature immune system, may help to explain the unique susceptibility of the immature intestine to inflammatory diseases such as NEC.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2014/852378
spellingShingle Kathryn S. Brown
Huiyu Gong
Mark R. Frey
Brock Pope
Matthew Golden
Katerina Martin
Mitchel Obey
Steven J. McElroy
Tumor Necrosis Factor Induces Developmental Stage-Dependent Structural Changes in the Immature Small Intestine
Mediators of Inflammation
title Tumor Necrosis Factor Induces Developmental Stage-Dependent Structural Changes in the Immature Small Intestine
title_full Tumor Necrosis Factor Induces Developmental Stage-Dependent Structural Changes in the Immature Small Intestine
title_fullStr Tumor Necrosis Factor Induces Developmental Stage-Dependent Structural Changes in the Immature Small Intestine
title_full_unstemmed Tumor Necrosis Factor Induces Developmental Stage-Dependent Structural Changes in the Immature Small Intestine
title_short Tumor Necrosis Factor Induces Developmental Stage-Dependent Structural Changes in the Immature Small Intestine
title_sort tumor necrosis factor induces developmental stage dependent structural changes in the immature small intestine
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2014/852378
work_keys_str_mv AT kathrynsbrown tumornecrosisfactorinducesdevelopmentalstagedependentstructuralchangesintheimmaturesmallintestine
AT huiyugong tumornecrosisfactorinducesdevelopmentalstagedependentstructuralchangesintheimmaturesmallintestine
AT markrfrey tumornecrosisfactorinducesdevelopmentalstagedependentstructuralchangesintheimmaturesmallintestine
AT brockpope tumornecrosisfactorinducesdevelopmentalstagedependentstructuralchangesintheimmaturesmallintestine
AT matthewgolden tumornecrosisfactorinducesdevelopmentalstagedependentstructuralchangesintheimmaturesmallintestine
AT katerinamartin tumornecrosisfactorinducesdevelopmentalstagedependentstructuralchangesintheimmaturesmallintestine
AT mitchelobey tumornecrosisfactorinducesdevelopmentalstagedependentstructuralchangesintheimmaturesmallintestine
AT stevenjmcelroy tumornecrosisfactorinducesdevelopmentalstagedependentstructuralchangesintheimmaturesmallintestine