Inflammatory neutrophils secrete annexin 1 during experimentally induced colitis in rats

Immunoblotting and immunohistochemical analysis were performed to identify the cells expressing and secreting annexin 1 during experimental rat colitis induced by trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid. Annexin 1 expression was increased during the inflammation. Likewise, annexin 1 secretion was induced in inflamed colons at one, three, six, and nine days after trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid treatment but was not detected in colons from controls and rats at 12 days. Immunohistochemistry showed that the rise in annexin 1 expression resulted from the infiltration of two types of leukocytes highly positive for annexin 1: neutrophils (the most abundant) and macrophages. At day 1 after treatment, neutrophils of the inflammatory site, in mucosa and submucosa, are the only cells expressing annexin 1. Immunoblotting showed that they secreted annexin 1 whereas neutrophils from blood or tunica muscularis did not. This indicates that, during this colitis, annexin 1 can be secreted by neutrophils located in the inflammatory site.