Butyrate activates the cAMP-protein kinase A-cAMP response element-binding protein signaling pathway in Caco-2 cells

Butyrate is a major SCFA produced by microbial fermentation of dietary fiber in the gastrointestinal tract. Butyrate is widely thought to mediate the benefits of fiber and resistant starch consumption to colon health in humans. Besides serving as a substrate for energy production, butyrate has many regulatory effects in animals. Little is known about the signaling mechanisms underlying the regulatory effects of butyrate and other SCFA. In this study, we determined whether butyrate can activate cAMP-protein kinase A (PKA)- cAMP response element (CRE)-binding protein (CREB) signaling in Caco-2 cells, a model of intestinal epithelial cells. Butyrate promoted luciferase expression from a CRE-reporter construct, induced phosphorylation of CREB, increased the activity of PKA, and elevated the levels of cAMP in Caco-2 cells. These data suggest that butyrate activates cAMP-PKA-CREB signaling in Caco-2 cells. Butyrate, however, had no effect on the activities of adenylyl cyclase (AC) and phosphodiesterase (PDE), two enzymes that determine the production and degradation of intracellular cAMP, respectively. Because the activities of AC and PDE are primarily regulated by G protein-coupled receptor (GPR)-mediated intracellular signaling, lack of an effect of butyrate on these two enzymes suggests that butyrate does not activate cAMP-PKA-CREB signaling through GPR. Butyrate-treated Caco-2 cells had greater concentrations of ATP than untreated cells. Because ATP is the substrate for cAMP production, this difference suggests that butyrate may activate cAMP-PKA-CREB signaling in Caco-2 cells through increased ATP production. Overall, this study raises the possibility that some of the regulatory effects of butyrate in animals, including those on the colonocytes, may be mediated by the cAMP-PKA-CREB signaling pathway at the cellular level.