ORCID Profile
0000-0002-5536-654X
Current Organisation
IT University of Copenhagen
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Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 04-0009
DOI: 10.1016/J.NEUROSCIENCE.2015.01.040
Abstract: G-protein-coupled receptor 41 (GPR41) also called free fatty acid receptor 3 (FFAR3) is a Gαi-coupled receptor activated by short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) mainly produced from dietary complex carbohydrate fibers in the large intestine as products of fermentation by microbiota. FFAR3 is expressed in enteroendocrine cells, but has recently also been shown to be present in sympathetic neurons of the superior cervical ganglion. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the FFAR3 is present in other autonomic and sensory ganglia possibly influencing gut physiology. Cryostat sections were cut of autonomic and sensory ganglia of a transgenic reporter mouse expressing the monomeric red fluorescent protein (mRFP) gene under the control of the FFAR3 promoter. Control for specific expression was also done by immunohistochemistry with an antibody against the reporter protein. mRFP expression was as expected found not only in neurons of the superior cervical ganglion, but also in sympathetic ganglia of the thoracic and lumbar sympathetic trunk. Further, neurons in prevertebral ganglia expressed the mRFP reporter. FFAR3-mRFP-expressing neurons were also present in both autonomic and sensory ganglia such as the vagal ganglion, the spinal dorsal root ganglion and the trigeminal ganglion. No expression was observed in the brain or spinal cord. By use of radioactive-labeled antisense DNA probes, mRNA encoding the FFAR3 was found to be present in cells of the same ganglia. Further, the expression of the FFAR3 in the ganglia of the transgenic mice was confirmed by immunohistochemistry using an antibody directed against the receptor protein, and double labeling colocalized mRFP and the FFAR3-protein in the same neurons. Finally, quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) on extracts from the ganglia supported the presence mRNA encoding the FFAR3 in most of the investigated tissues. These data indicate that FFAR3 is expressed on postganglionic sympathetic and sensory neurons in both the autonomic and somatic peripheral nervous system and that SCFAs act not only through the enteroendocrine system but also directly by modifying physiological reflexes integrating the peripheral nervous system and the gastro-intestinal tract.
Publisher: The Endocrine Society
Date: 10-2013
DOI: 10.1210/EN.2013-1142
Abstract: The expression of short-chain fatty acid receptors GPR41/FFAR3 and GPR43/ free fatty acid receptor 2 (FFAR2) was studied in the gastrointestinal tract of transgenic monomeric red fluorescent protein (mRFP) reporter mice. In the stomach free fatty acid receptor 3 (FFAR3)-mRFP was expressed in a subpopulation of ghrelin and gastrin cells. In contrast, strong expression of FFAR3-mRFP was observed in all cholecystokinin, glucose-dependent insulinotropic peptide (GIP), and secretin cells of the proximal small intestine and in all glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), peptide YY, and neurotensin cells of the distal small intestine. Throughout the colon and rectum, FFAR3-mRFP was strongly expressed in the large population of peptide YY and GLP-1 cells and in the neurotensin cells of the proximal colon. A gradient of expression of FFAR3-mRFP was observed in the somatostatin cells from less than 5% in the stomach to more than 95% in the rectum. Substance P-containing enterochromaffin cells displayed a similar gradient of FFAR3-mRFP expression throughout the small intestine. Surprisingly, FFAR3-mRFP was also expressed in the neuronal cells of the submucosal and myenteric ganglia. Quantitative PCR analysis of fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) purified FFAR3-mRFP positive cells confirmed the coexpression with the various peptide hormones as well as key neuronal marker proteins. The FFAR2-mRFP reporter was strongly expressed in a large population of leukocytes in the lamina propria of in particular the small intestine but surprisingly only weakly in a subpopulation of enteroendocrine cells. Nevertheless, synthetic ligands specific for either FFAR3 or FFAR2 each released GLP-1 from colonic crypt cultures and the FFAR2 agonist mobilized intracellular Ca2+ in FFAR2 positive enteroendocrine cells. It is concluded that FFAR3-mRFP serves as a useful marker for the majority of enteroendocrine cells of the small and large intestine and that FFAR3 and FFAR2 both act as sensors for short-chain fatty acids in enteroendocrine cells, whereas FFAR3 apparently has this role alone in enteric neurons and FFAR2 in enteric leukocytes.
No related grants have been discovered for Mark Klitgaard Nøhr.