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Quantitative analysis of mucosal oxygenation using ex vivo imaging of healthy and inflamed mammalian colon tissue

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Abstract

Colonic inflammation is associated with decreased tissue oxygenation, significantly affecting gut homeostasis. However, the crosstalk between O2 consumption and supply in the inflamed tissue are not fully understood. Using a murine model of colitis, we analysed O2 in freshly prepared samples of healthy and inflamed colon tissue. We developed protocols for efficient ex vivo staining of mouse distal colon mucosa with a cell-penetrating O2 sensitive probe Pt-Glc and high-resolution imaging of O2 concentration in live tissue by confocal phosphorescence lifetime-imaging microscopy (PLIM). Microscopy analysis revealed that Pt-Glc stained mostly the top 50–60 μm layer of the mucosa, with high phosphorescence intensity in epithelial cells. Measured O2 values in normal mouse tissue ranged between 5 and 35 μM (4–28 Torr), tending to decrease in the deeper tissue areas. Four-day treatment with dextran sulphate sodium (DSS) triggered colon inflammation, as evidenced by an increase in local IL6 and mKC mRNA levels, but did not affect the gross architecture of colonic epithelium. We further observed an increase in oxygenation, partial activation of hypoxia inducible factor (HIF) 1 signalling, and negative trends in pyruvate dehydrogenase activity and O2 consumption rate in the colitis mucosa, suggesting a decrease in mitochondrial respiration, which is known to be regulated via HIF-1 signalling and pyruvate oxidation rate. These results along with efficient staining with Pt-Glc of rat and human colonic mucosa reveal high potential of PLIM platform as a powerful tool for the high-resolution analysis of the intestinal tissue oxygenation in patients with inflammatory bowel disease and other pathologies, affecting tissue respiration.

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Acknowledgments

Authors thank Dr. Ruslan Dmitriev (University College Cork) for Pt-Glc probe and the IBD research nurse Ms Margot Hurley (Cork University Hospital) for help with clinical sample collection. This work was supported by Enterprise Ireland (D.B.P., Grant CF/2012/2346), Science Foundation Ireland (J.F.C., F.S. Grant Nr 12/RC/2273), and the European Commission FP7 Program (D.B.P., Grant FP7-HEALTH-2012-INNOVATION-304842-2).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, University College Cork, Cavanagh Pharmacy Building, College Road, Cork, Ireland

    Alexander V. Zhdanov, Irina A. Okkelman, Barbara Doerr & Dmitri B. Papkovsky

  2. APC Microbiome Institute, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland

    Anna V. Golubeva, Niall P. Hyland, Silvia Melgar, Fergus Shanahan & John F. Cryan

  3. Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland

    John F. Cryan

  4. Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland

    Niall P. Hyland

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  1. Alexander V. Zhdanov
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  2. Irina A. Okkelman
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Correspondence to Alexander V. Zhdanov.

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Electronic supplementary material

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Supplemental Table 1. Primers for mouse gene expression analysis (DOCX 13 kb)

Supplemental Table 2. Antibodies for Western blotting analysis (DOCX 12 kb)

18_2016_2323_MOESM3_ESM.docx

Supplemental Table 3. Comparison of O2 values corresponding to the 25th, 50th, and 75th percentiles of the frequency distribution of O2 in colonic mucosa of control and DSS-treated mice (DOCX 13 kb)

18_2016_2323_MOESM4_ESM.docx

Supplemental Methods. Staining of Caco-2 cells with O2 sensitive probes and analysis of probe penetration across cell monolayer (DOCX 15 kb)

Supplemental Fig. 1. Staining with O2 sensitive probes of mouse colon tissue and Caco-2 cells (EPS 34089 kb)

18_2016_2323_MOESM6_ESM.eps

Supplemental Fig. 2. Efficiency of staining of mouse colon tissue with Pt-Glc probe, stability of probe LT signal, and analysis of Pt-Glc probe toxicity on Caco-2 cells (EPS 1287 kb)

Supplemental Fig. 3. Permeability of Pt-Glc probe across Caco-2 monolayer (EPS 12891 kb)

Supplemental Fig. 4. Morphology and Pt-Glc staining of colon tissue (EPS 40715 kb)

18_2016_2323_MOESM9_ESM.eps

Supplemental Fig. 5. Effect of DSS-induced inflammation on the expression of HIF-activated genes in distal colon of colitis and control mice (EPS 677 kb)

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Zhdanov, A.V., Okkelman, I.A., Golubeva, A.V. et al. Quantitative analysis of mucosal oxygenation using ex vivo imaging of healthy and inflamed mammalian colon tissue. Cell. Mol. Life Sci. 74, 141–151 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00018-016-2323-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00018-016-2323-x

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