Antisecretory Factor Peptide AF-16 Inhibits the Secreted Autotransporter Toxin-Stimulated Transcellular and Paracellular Passages of Fluid in Cultured Human Enterocyte-Like Cells

Abstract

Both the endogenous antisecretory factor (AF) protein and peptide AF-16, which has a sequence that matches that of the active N-terminal region of AF, inhibit the increase in the epithelial transport of fluid and electrolytes induced by bacterial toxins in animal andex vivomodels. We conducted a study to investigate the inhibitory effect of peptide AF-16 against the increase of transcellular passage and paracellular permeability promoted by thesecretedautotransportertoxin (Sat) in a cultured cellular model of the human intestinal epithelial barrier. Peptide AF-16 produced a concentration-dependent inhibition of the Sat-induced increase in the formation of fluid domes, in the mucosal-to-serosal passage ofd-[1-14C]mannitol, and in the rearrangements in the distribution and protein expression of the tight junction (TJ)-associated proteins ZO-1 and occludin in cultured human enterocyte-like Caco-2/TC7 cell monolayers. In addition, we show that peptide AF-16 also inhibits the cholera toxin-induced increase of transcellular passage and theClostridium difficiletoxin-induced effects on paracellular permeability and TJ protein organization in Caco-2/TC7 cell monolayers. Treatment of cell monolayers by the lipid raft disorganizer methyl-β-cyclodextrin abolished the inhibitory activity of peptide AF-16 at the transcellular passage level and did not modify the effect of the peptide at the paracellular level.