Topical antisense oligonucleotide therapy against LIX, an enterocyte-expressed CXC chemokine, reduces murine colitis

Epithelial neutrophil-activating peptide-78 (ENA-78), a member of the CXC chemokine subfamily, is induced by inflammatory cytokines in human colonic enterocyte cell lines and increased in the colon of patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Lipopolysaccharide-induced CXC-chemokine (LIX) was recently identified as the murine homolog of ENA-78. Here we show that, similar to ENA-78, inflammatory cytokine stimulation of a murine colonic epithelial cell line, MODE-K, results in increased LIX expression. Consistent with the expression pattern of ENA-78 in IBD, LIX expression is significantly increased in mice with colitis induced by the ingestion of dextran sodium sulfate (DSS). Treating mice with antisense oligonucleotides to LIX via rectal enema delivery before DSS treatment results in colonic enterocyte uptake and a significant reduction in neutrophil infiltration and severity of colitis. These findings indicate that LIX plays an integral role in the pathogenesis of DSS-induced colitis. Similarly, enterocyte-derived CXC chemokines may play a key role in regulating neutrophil recruitment and intestinal injury in IBD. The intracolonic administration of ENA-78 antisense oligonucleotides may be effective in treating distal ulcerative colitis in humans.