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Autophagy is active in normal colon mucosa
Jean-Francois Groulx1, Taoufik Khalfaoui, Yannick D Benoit
1CIHR Team on the Digestive Epithelium, Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Québec Canada.
Autophagy
|June 2, 2012
Summary
Autophagy is active in normal human intestinal cells, particularly in undifferentiated cells. This process is linked to proliferative and progenitor cell populations in the colon.
Area of Science:
- Cell Biology
- Gastroenterology
- Cancer Research
Background:
- Autophagy is activated in colon cancer cells.
- Limited research exists on autophagy in normal colon mucosa.
Purpose of the Study:
- Characterize autophagy in normal human intestinal cells.
- Investigate the role of autophagy in intestinal cell differentiation and proliferation.
Main Methods:
- Utilized normal human intestinal epithelial crypt (HIEC) cells.
- Assessed autophagy markers: LC3-II, BECN1, and SQSTM1.
- Examined protein and transcript levels in colon cancer specimens.
Main Results:
- Autophagy activity was higher in undifferentiated HIEC cells compared to differentiated cells.
- BECN1 localized to proliferative cells in the lower gland; SQSTM1 localized to differentiated cells in the upper gland and surface epithelium.
- SQSTM1 expression in the lower gland colocalized with BECN1-labeled autophagosomes, confirming its utility as an active autophagy marker.
Conclusions:
- Autophagy is active within the colonic gland.
- Autophagy is associated with intestinal proliferative/undifferentiated and progenitor cell populations.
- SQSTM1 is a useful marker for active autophagy in normal and cancerous colon tissue.
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