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Localization, function and regulation of the two intestinal fatty acid-binding protein types

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Abstract

Although intestinal (I) and liver (L) fatty acid binding proteins (FABP) have been widely studied, the physiological significance of the presence of the two FABP forms (I- and L-FABP) in absorptive cells remains unknown as do the differences related to their distribution along the crypt-villus axis, regional expression, ontogeny and regulation in the human intestine. Our morphological experiments supported the expression of I- and L-FABP as early as 13 weeks of gestation. Whereas cytoplasmic immunofluorescence staining of L-FABP was barely detectable in the lower half of the villus and in the crypt epithelial cells, I-FABP was visualized in epithelial cells of the crypt-villus axis in all intestinal segments until the adult period in which the staining was maximized in the upper part of the villus. Immunoelectron microscopy revealed more intense labeling of L-FABP compared with I-FABP, accompanied with a heterogeneous distribution in the cytoplasm, microvilli and basolateral membranes. By western blot analysis, I- and L-FABP at 15 weeks of gestation appeared predominant in jejunum compared with duodenum, ileum, proximal and distal colon. Exploration of the maturation aspect documented a rise in L-FABP in adult tissues. Permanent transfections of Caco-2 cells with I-FABP cDNA resulted in decreased lipid export, apolipoprotein (apo) biogenesis and chylomicron secretion. Additionally, supplementation of Caco-2 with insulin, hydrocortisone and epidermal growth factor differentially modulated the expression of I- and L-FABP, apo B-48 and microsomal triglyceride transfer protein (MTP), emphasizing that these key proteins do not exhibit a parallel modulation. Overall, our findings indicate that the two FABPs display differences in localization, regulation and developmental pattern.

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Abbreviations

Apo:

Apolipoprotein

BSA:

Bovine serum albumin

CE:

Cholesteryl esters

EGF:

Epidermal growth factor

ER:

Endoplasmic reticulum

FA:

Fatty acids

FABP:

Fatty acid binding proteins

FBS:

Fetal bovine serum

GST:

glutathione S-transferase

LDL:

Low-density lipoprotein

MEM:

Minimum essential medium

MTP:

Microsomal triglyceride transfer protein

PBS:

Phosphate-buffered saline

PL:

Phospholipids

TCA:

Trichloroacetic acid

TG:

Triglyceride

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by grants from Canadian Institutes of Health Research (MOP 49433) and (MOP 10584). The authors thank Schohraya Spahis for her expert technical assistance and Diane Gingras for her involvement in the electron microscopy studies.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Nutrition, CHU-Sainte-Justine, University of Montreal, 3175 Côte Ste-Catherine Road, Montreal, QC, H3T 1C5, Canada

    Emile Levy, Alain Montoudis, Geneviève Mailhot & Nadia Dubé

  2. CIHR Team on the Digestive Epithelium, Canadian Institute of Health Research and Department of Cellular Biology, Faculty of Medicine, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, QC, J1H 5N4, Canada

    Emile Levy, Daniel Ménard, Jean-François Beaulieu & Ernest Seidman

  3. Department of Biochemistry, CHU-Sainte-Justine, University of Montreal, Montreal, QC, H3T 1C5, Canada

    Edgard Delvin

  4. Department of Pediatrics, CHU-Sainte-Justine, University of Montreal, Montreal, QC, H3T 1C5, Canada

    Daniel Sinnett

  5. Research Institute, McGill University, Campus MGH, C10.148.6, Montreal, QC, Canada

    Ernest Seidman

  6. Department of Pathology and Cell Biology, CHU-Sainte-Justine, University of Montreal, Montreal, QC, H3T 1C5, Canada

    Moise Bendayan

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  1. Emile Levy
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Correspondence to Emile Levy.

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Levy, E., Ménard, D., Delvin, E. et al. Localization, function and regulation of the two intestinal fatty acid-binding protein types. Histochem Cell Biol 132, 351–367 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00418-009-0608-y

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