Functional Assessment of Intestinal Permeability and Neutrophil Transepithelial Migration in Mice using a Standardized Intestinal Loop Model

Summary

Dysregulated intestinal epithelial barrier function and immune responses are hallmarks of inflammatory bowel disease that remain poorly investigated due to a lack of physiological models. Here, we describe a mouse intestinal loop model that employs a well-vascularized and exteriorized bowel segment to study mucosal permeability and leukocyte recruitment in vivo.

Abstract

The intestinal mucosa is lined by a single layer of epithelial cells that forms a dynamic barrier allowing paracellular transport of nutrients and water while preventing passage of luminal bacteria and exogenous substances. A breach of this layer results in increased permeability to luminal contents and recruitment of immune cells, both of which are hallmarks of pathologic states in the gut including inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

Mechanisms regulating epithelial barrier function and transepithelial migration (TEpM) of polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMN) are incompletely understood due to the lack of experimental in vivo methods allowing quantitative analyses. Here, we describe a robust murine experimental model that employs an exteriorized intestinal segment of either ileum or proximal colon. The exteriorized intestinal loop (iLoop) is fully vascularized and offers physiological advantages over ex vivo chamber-based approaches commonly used to study permeability and PMN migration across epithelial cell monolayers.

We demonstrate two applications of this model in detail: (1) quantitative measurement of intestinal permeability through detection of fluorescence-labeled dextrans in serum after intraluminal injection, (2) quantitative assessment of migrated PMN across the intestinal epithelium into the gut lumen after intraluminal introduction of chemoattractants. We demonstrate feasibility of this model and provide results utilizing the iLoop in mice lacking the epithelial tight junction-associated protein JAM-A compared to controls. JAM-A has been shown to regulate epithelial barrier function as well as PMN TEpM during inflammatory responses. Our results using the iLoop confirm previous studies and highlight the importance of JAM-A in regulation of intestinal permeability and PMN TEpM in vivo during homeostasis and disease.

The iLoop model provides a highly standardized method for reproducible in vivo studies of intestinal homeostasis and inflammation and will significantly enhance understanding of intestinal barrier function and mucosal inflammation in diseases such as IBD.

Introduction

The intestinal mucosa encompasses a single layer of columnar intestinal epithelial cells (IECs), underlying lamina propria immune cells and the muscularis mucosae. Besides its role in the absorption of nutrients, the intestinal epithelium is a physical barrier that protects the body interior from luminal commensal bacteria, pathogens, and dietary antigens. In addition, IECs and lamina propria immune cells coordinate the immune response inducing either tolerance or response depending on the context and stimuli. It has been reported that the disruption of the epithelial barrier can precede the onset of pathologic mucosal inflammation and contribute to inflammatory bowel....

Protocol

All animal experiments were conducted in accordance with the guidelines and policies of the National Institutes of Health and approved by the Institutional Animal Care & Use Committee at the University of Michigan.

1. Preoperative preparation

NOTE: This method was generated employing adult mice from C57BL/6 genetic background, aged 8 - 12 weeks. All mice were kept under strict specific pathogen free conditions with ad libitum access to normal chow and water. Results were obtained using C57BL/6, Jam-a - null mice (Jam-a^-/-) or mice harboring selective loss of JAM-A on IECs (Villin-cr....

Results

A schematic representation of the ileal loop and pcLoop models is depicted in Figure 1 and Figure 2, respectively. The anatomical pictures display the critical steps of the procedure including exteriorization of the intestinal segment (Figure 1B and Figure 2B), identification of an appropriate location for ligations that allows minimal disturbance of blood supply (

Discussion

The mechanisms responsible for dysregulation of intestinal barrier function and immune cell recruitment under pathologic conditions such as IBD are incompletely understood. Here, we detail a robust in vivo murine model that employs a well-vascularized exteriorized intestinal segment of either ileum or proximal colon and allows for assessment of intestinal permeability, neutrophil migration studies as well as other applications.

The iLoop is a non-recovery surgery that is performed on live anim.......

Materials

List of materials used in this article

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
Equipment and Material
BD Alcohol Swabs	BD	326895
BD PrecisionGlide Needle, 25G X 5/8"	BD	305122
BD PrecisionGlide Needle, 30G X 1/2"	BD	305106
BD 1ml Tuberculin Syringe Without Needle	BD	309659
15ml Centrifuge Tube	Corning	14-959-53A
Corning 96-Well Solid Black Polystyrene Microplate	FisherScientific	07-200-592
Corning Non-treated Culture Dish, 10cm	MilliporeSigma	CLS430588
Cotton Tip Applicator (cotton swab), 6", sterile	FisherScientific	25806 2WC
Dynarex Cotton Filled Gauze Sponges, Non-Sterile, 2" x 2"	Medex	3249-1
EZ-7000 anesthesia vaporizer (Classic System, including heating units)	E-Z Systems	EZ-7000
Falcon Centrifuge Tube 50ml	VWR	21008-940
Fisherbrand Colored Labeling Tape	FisherScientific	15-901-10R
Halsey Needle Holder (needle holder)	FST	12001-13
Kimwipes, small (tissue wipe)	FisherScientific	06-666
1.7ml Microcentrifuge Tubes	Thomas Scientific	c2170
Micro Tube 1.3ml Z (serum clot activator tube)	Sarstedt	41.1501.105
Moria Fine Scissors	FST	14370-22
5ml Polystyrene Round-Bottom Tube with Cell-Strainer Cap (35 µm nylon mesh)	Falcon	352235
Puralube Vet Ointment, Sterile Ocular Lubricant	Dechra	12920060
Ring Forceps (blunt tissue forceps)	FST	11103-09
Roboz Surgical 4-0 Silk Black Braided, 100 YD	FisherScientific	NC9452680
Semken Forceps (anatomical forceps)	FST	1108-13
Sofsilk Nonabsorbable Coated Black Suture Braided Silk Size 3-0, 18", Needle 19mm length 3/8 circle reverse cutting	HenrySchein	SS694
Student Fine Forceps, Angled	FST	91110-10
10ml Syringe PP/PE without needle	Millipore Sigma	Z248029
96 Well Cell Culture Plate	Corning	3799
Yellow Feeding Tubes for Rodents 20G x 30 mm	Instech	FTP-20-30
Solutions and Buffers
Accugene 0.5M EDTA	Lonza	51201
Ammonium-Chloride-Potassium (ACK) Lysing Buffer	BioWhittaker	10-548E
Hanks' Balanced Salt Solution	Corning	21-023-CV
Phosphate-Buffered Saline without Calcium and Magnesium	Corning	21-040-CV
Reagents
Alexa Fluor 647 Anti-Mouse Ly-6G Antibody (1A8)	BioLegend	127610
CD11b Monoclonal Antibody, PE, eBioscience (M1/70)	ThermoFisher	12-0112-81
CountBright Absolute Counting Beads	Invitrogen	C36950
Dithiotreitol	FisherScientific	BP172-5
Fetal Bovine Serum, heat inactivated	R&D Systems	511550
Fluorescein Isothiocyanate-Dextran, average molecular weight 4.000	Sigma	60842-46-8
Isoflurane	Halocarbon	12164-002-25
Leukotriene B4	Millipore Sigma	71160-24-2
PerCP Rat Anti-Mouse CD45 (30-F11)	BD Pharmingen	557235
Purified Rat Anti-Mouse CD16/CD32 (Mouse BD FC Block)	BD Bioscience	553142
Recombinant Murine IFN-γ	Peprotech	315-05
Recombinant Murine TNF-α	Peprotech	315-01A