Flotillin-2 expression in the human gut: from a cell model to human tissue in health and inflammatory bowel diseases

The etiopathogenesis of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) remains largely unexplained. Flotillins (flotillin-1 and flotillin-2) are ubiquitous proteins which have been linked to inflammation and regeneration. We hypothesized that alterations in the expression of flotillin-2 in enterocytes may be related to the pathogenesis of IBD as a classical example of an inflammatory disorder of mostly unknown origin.

Cell and tissue localization of flotillin-2 (and -1) were investigated by immunofluorescent staining in 1. polarized and unpolarized CaCo-2w cells as a model of human enterocytes (native and after TNFα stimulation) and 2. intestinal biopsies from controls, patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) and patients with Crohn's disease (CD). For quantification of flotillin-2, we analyzed its expression in ileal and colonic biopsies from controls, UC patients and CD patients using real-time RT-PCR, Western blot and indirect immunofluorescence.

In polarized CaCo-2w cells and human enterocytes in biopsies, flotillins were localized at the basolateral membrane and on subapical vesicles, but not in the apical membrane. Flotillin-2 expression did not differ between UC patients, CD patients and controls. However, it was significantly higher in colonic biopsies compared to ileal biopsies in all groups.

By virtue of its abundant expression in enterocytes, flotillin-2 must have an essential function in intestinal physiology, especially in the colon. Yet our data could not link flotillin-2 to the pathogenesis of IBD.