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Expression of Alkaline Sphingomyelinase in Yeast Cells and Anti-inflammatory Effects of the Expressed Enzyme in a Rat Colitis Model

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Abstract

Alkaline sphingomyelinase (Alk-SMase) is a key enzyme in the intestinal tract for digestion of dietary sphingomyelin (SM), which generates lipid messengers with cell-cycle regulating effects. The enzyme is significantly decreased in ulcerative colitis and colon cancer. Based on this information, we wanted to investigate whether the enzyme had preventive effects against murine colitis. We report herein a method to express a biologically active Alk-SMase from Pichia pastoris yeast cells. By using the expressed enzyme to treat a rat colitis model induced by dextran sulfate sodium, we found that intrarectal instillation of Alk-SMase once daily for 1 week significantly reduced the inflammation score and protected the colonic epithelium from inflammatory destruction. We found a tendency for decreased tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α expression in the Alk-SMase-treated group. This study, for the first time, provides a method to produce the enzyme and shows the potential applicability of the enzyme in the treatment of inflammatory bowel diseases.

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Acknowledgments

The work was supported by the grants from the Swedish Cancer Society, the Albert Påhlsson Foundation, the Swedish Research Council, and the Research Foundation of Lund University Hospital. Dr. Yajun Cheng is thanked for technical assistance and Dr. Åke Nilsson for stimulating discussions. The current address for Jun Wu is Beijing Institute of Biotechnology, Beijing, 100071, China.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Gastroenterology Laboratory, Institution of Clinical Science, Biomedical Center, B11, Lund University, 22184, Lund, Sweden

    David Andersson, Jun Wu & Rui-Dong Duan

  2. Immunology Unit, BMC I13, Lund University, 22184, Lund, Sweden

    Knut Kotarsky & William Agace

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  1. David Andersson
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  2. Knut Kotarsky
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  3. Jun Wu
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  4. William Agace
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  5. Rui-Dong Duan
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Correspondence to Rui-Dong Duan.

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Andersson, D., Kotarsky, K., Wu, J. et al. Expression of Alkaline Sphingomyelinase in Yeast Cells and Anti-inflammatory Effects of the Expressed Enzyme in a Rat Colitis Model. Dig Dis Sci 54, 1440–1448 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10620-008-0509-2

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