doi:10.1369/jhc.6A7100.2007
Volume 55 (5): 505-513, 2007 Copyright ©The Histochemical Society, Inc. Tissue Localization of Human Trefoil Factors 1, 2, and 3
Cardiovascular Research Institute, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California (JM); Department of Pathology, Odense Universitetshospital, Odense, Denmark (ON); Medical Biotechnology Center, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark (IT,UH); and Department of Protein Engineering, Novo Nordisk A/S, Måløv, Denmark (LT) Correspondence to: Jens Madsen, Cardiovascular Research Institute, University of California San Francisco, 333 California St., San Francisco, CA 94118. E-mail: jens.madsen{at}ucsf.edu
Trefoil factors (TTFs) are small, compact proteins coexpressed with mucins in the gastrointestinal tract. Three trefoil factors are known in mammals: TFF1, TFF2, and TFF3. They are implicated to play diverse roles in maintenance and repair of the gastrointestinal channel. We compared the expression pattern of the three trefoil factors analyzing mRNA from a panel of 20 human tissues by conventional reverse transcriptase (RT) PCR and, in addition, by real-time PCR. These findings were supported by immunohistochemical analysis of paraffin-embedded human tissues using rabbit polyclonal antibodies raised against these factors. TFF1 showed highest expression in the stomach and colon, whereas TFF2 and TFF3 showed highest expression in stomach and colon, respectively. All three TFFs were found in the ducts of pancreas. Whereas TFF2 was found to be restricted to these two tissues, the structurally more closely related TFF1 and TFF3 showed a more general tissue distribution and were found to colocalize on an array of mucosal surfaces. This is the first thorough parallel description of the tissue distribution of TFFs in normal tissues, and it provides a baseline for similar analysis in diseased tissues. (J Histochem Cytochem 55:505513, 2007)
Key Words: trefoil factor mucosal innate immunity tissue localization real-time PCR immunohistochemistry
THREE MEMBERS of the trefoil factor family (TFF) are known in mammals: TFF1 (formerly known as breast cancer-associated peptide pS2), TFF2 (formerly spasmolytic polypeptide SP), and TFF3 (formerly intestinal trefoil factor). These proteins are small, compact peptides containing one or two trefoil domains. A trefoil domain consists of 4243 amino acid residues with six cysteine residues forming three disulfide bonds, thereby creating a characteristic three-leafed structure (Thim 1997
TFFs are predominantly found as secreted molecules in the mucous covering normal epithelium. Mucin-producing cells, or goblet cells, dispersed in epithelia are the predominant site of TFF synthesis. The stomach is the only organ where all three TFFs are expressed, being localized to the superficial gastric mucosal cells. TFF2 is expressed in deeper glands as well (Hanby et al. 1993b
TFF1 and TFF3 are also expressed in the airways. In the upper respiratory tract, both proteins are expressed in epithelial cells and submucosal glandular epithelium of the human nasal mucosa glands (Lee et al. 2001
In vitro and in vivo data show that the functions of trefoil peptides are involvement in homeostasis and repair of mucosal surfaces, processes called restitution and regeneration (reviewed in Taupin and Podolsky 2003 To date, localization studies of trefoil peptides have been performed on scattered tissue samples using various antibodies. In the present study we screened 20 human tissues for expression of all three trefoil peptides, using both conventional PCR and quantitative real-time PCR. These results were supported by immunhistochemistry (IHC) of paraffin-embedded normal human tissues using three polyclonal antibodies raised against each of the peptides, respectively.
The local ethical committee in Odense approved the use of the tissue section samples (ref. no: VF20050070).
Reverse Transcriptase PCR
The amount of RNA used in the reverse transcriptase (RT)-PCR was visualized using a primer pair for human ß-actin as described in Gronlund et al. (2000)
Real-time PCR
Production of Rabbit Polyclonal Antibodies Against TFFs
IHC
Four-µm-thick sections were cut from non-commercial paraffin-embedded blocks of normal human tissue fixed in neutral-buffered 4% (w/v) formaldehyde. Sections were mounted on ChemMate Capillary Gap Slides (Dako), dried at 60C, deparaffinized, and rehydrated. Antigen retrieval was performed by microwave heating in TRS (Dako) for TFF1 and TFF3 and pronase E treatment for TFF2, respectively, and endogenous biotin blocking was performed as previously described (Madsen et al. 2003
PCR Expression of trefoil mRNA was performed by screening 20 human tissues using specific primer pairs for each gene, respectively. For TFF1, a high signal was found in the colon, prostate, and trachea (Figure 1A ). Intermediate to low levels were observed in the mammary gland, stomach, pancreas, salivary gland, small intestine, and skeletal muscle. For TFF2, a clear signal was found in the stomach and pancreas (Figure 1A). The major site of TFF3 mRNA synthesis was the colon, pancreas, and trachea, but expression was also found in the small intestine, salivary gland, mammary gland, and prostate (Figure 1A). Low levels were observed in the spleen, liver, uterus, lung, and stomach.
Quantitative Real-time PCR (qRt-PCR) Two different housekeeping genes, ß-actin and the transferrin receptor, respectively, were initially examined to identify the most optimal normalization gene. Comparison of the two genes showed that ß-actin was the more consistent and least variable of the two genes and was therefore chosen as the housekeeping gene (results not shown). All 20 tissue samples were normalized to actin and furthermore standardized to thymus, which showed low expression of all three peptides. Expression levels were calculated as arbitrary units. The colon and the stomach showed the highest levels of TFF1 mRNA expression (Figures 1B and 1C). An expression level more than one order of magnitude lower was observed in the trachea, prostate, thymus, salivary gland, pancreas, and mammary gland. Several other tissues including the small intestine showed low to very low levels of TFF1 mRNA. The stomach was the major site of TFF2 mRNA synthesis with a signal intensity 10 times stronger than other tissues such as the pancreas, colon, and skeletal muscle. Low expression was found in the liver, heart, kidney, lung, trachea, salivary gland, small intestine, mammary gland, and prostate. The colon was identified as the major site of TFF3 mRNA synthesis, whereas several tissues such as the trachea, lung, salivary gland, and small intestine showed intermediate expression (Figures 1B and 1C). Low levels were found in the pancreas, prostate, mammary gland, and almost non-detectable levels in the stomach, adrenal gland, spleen, liver, kidney, and uterus (Figure 1C).
IHC
In this study we compared levels of expression of three known human TFFs at the mRNA and the protein level by combining real-time PCR with IHC localization using specific polyclonal antibodies. In general, there was good agreement between measurements of mRNA and results obtained by IHC. Real-time PCR analysis revealed TFF3 to be the most widely expressed peptide of the three TFFs, with the highest levels detected in the colon. The respiratory tract, including the trachea, lung, and the salivary gland, as well as the small intestine, showed intermediate levels of expression of TFF3, and the remainder of the examined tissues showed low to barely detectable levels. TFF2 has previously been described as a stomach-restricted gene. However, results from real-time PCR analysis showed expression in many tissues other than stomach, including the pancreas, which showed the second-highest level of expression, an order of magnitude lower than stomach. A distinct signal was also seen in the colon and skeletal muscle, and lower to no signal was found in the remainder of the examined tissues. The highest TFF1 mRNA levels were observed in the colon and stomach, and expression levels an order of magnitude lower were found in the trachea, prostate, skeletal muscle, salivary gland, pancreas, and mammary gland. Low but distinct expression was seen in the small intestine, lung, and heart, with the remainder of tissues showing low to no expression.
IHC analysis localized the peptides to numerous tissues, with the majority in the alimentary tract or associated organs. All three peptides were localized to the stomach, with TFF2 staining most strongly, followed by TFF1, and only weakly for TFF3. The small and large intestine and rectum showed strong staining for TFF3 and TFF1 and no or scattered staining for TFF2. These results are in accordance with previous studies (Wright et al. 1990
Real-time PCR analysis revealed that of the 20 tissues analyzed, the second-highest expression level of TFF3 was found in the trachea and, in accordance with this, IHC analysis localized the peptide to the submucosal glands and the pseudostratified epithelium in the bronchus. TFF1 was also seen in the submucosal glands, but not in the pseudostratified epithelium in the bronchus. No staining was found in the bronchus for TFF2. In the alveolar compartment of the respiratory tract, no localization was found for any of the three peptides, corresponding to the absence of goblet cells in alveoli. These results are in accordance with previously published results (Wiede et al. 1999
Expression of trefoil peptides was also found in the vagina where TFF3 showed clear localization to mucosal glands. TFF1 showed less intense staining and, occasionally, staining for TFF2 was observed in a few mucosal cells. A single previous report has looked at the female genitalia and found localization of TFF3 in the surface epithelium of the endocervix and in gland-like structures in the cervical epithelium (Wiede et al. 2001
TFF3 was also found in the cuboidal epithelial cells of the thyroid gland, whereas no staining was observed for TFF1 or TFF2. This is the first report showing protein localization of TFF3 in the thyroid gland. A few reports have previously shown expression of TFF3 in normal thyroid gland tissue, including in situ hybridization analysis that showed expression in cuboidal epithelial cells (Huang et al. 2001
Trefoil peptides are known to be upregulated in connection with ulceration or other types of mucosal damage including inflammatory bowel disease, diseased intrahepatic bile ducts, Barrett's esophagus, and numerous gastrointestinal cancers (Rio et al. 1991
This work was supported by The Danish Medical Research Council (to UH), The Fifth (EC) Framework Programme (contract no. QLK2000-00325 to UH), and The Benzon Foundation (to JM).
Received for publication September 23, 2006; accepted January 8, 2007
Beck PL, Wong JF, Li Y, Swaminathan S, Xavier RJ, Devaney KL, Podolsky DK (2004) Chemotherapy- and radiotherapy-induced intestinal damage is regulated by intestinal trefoil factor. Gastroenterology 126:796808[CrossRef] Bossenmeyer-Pourie C, Kannan R, Ribieras S, Wendling C, Stoll I, Thim L, Tomasetto C, et al. (2002) The trefoil factor 1 participates in gastrointestinal cell differentiation by delaying G1-S phase transition and reducing apoptosis. J Cell Biol 157:761770 Chadwick MP, Westley BR, May FE (1997) Homodimerization and hetero-oligomerization of the single-domain trefoil protein pNR-2/pS2 through cysteine 58. Biochem J 327:117123 dos Santos Silva E, Ulrich M, Doring G, Botzenhart K, Gott P (2000) Trefoil factor family domain peptides in the human respiratory tract. J Pathol 190:133142[CrossRef][Medline] Ebert MP, Hoffmann J, Haeckel C, Rutkowski K, Schmid RM, Wagner M, Adler G, et al. (1999) Induction of TFF1 gene expression in pancreas overexpressing transforming growth factor Farrell JJ, Taupin D, Koh TJ, Chen D, Zhao CM, Podolsky DK, Wang TC (2002) TFF2/SP-deficient mice show decreased gastric proliferation, increased acid secretion, and increased susceptibility to NSAID injury. J Clin Invest 109:193204[CrossRef][Medline] Gronlund J, Vitved L, Lausen M, Skjodt K, Holmskov U (2000) Cloning of a novel scavenger receptor cysteine-rich type I transmembrane molecule (M160) expressed by human macrophages. J Immunol 165:64066415 Hanby AM, Poulsom R, Elia G, Singh S, Longcroft JM, Wright NA (1993a) The expression of the trefoil peptides pS2 and human spasmolytic polypeptide (hSP) in gastric metaplasia of the proximal duodenum: implications for the nature of gastric metaplasia. J Pathol 169:355360[CrossRef][Medline] Hanby AM, Poulsom R, Singh S, Elia G, Jeffery RE, Wright NA (1993b) Spasmolytic polypeptide is a major antral peptide: distribution of the trefoil peptides human spasmolytic polypeptide and pS2 in the stomach. Gastroenterology 105:11101116[Medline] Hinz M, Schwegler H, Chwieralski CE, Laube G, Linke R, Pohle W, Hoffmann W (2004) Trefoil factor family (TFF) expression in the mouse brain and pituitary: changes in the developing cerebellum. Peptides 25:827832[CrossRef][Medline] Hoffmann W (2005) Trefoil factors TFF (trefoil factor family) peptide-triggered signals promoting mucosal restitution. Cell Mol Life Sci 62:29322938[CrossRef][Medline] Huang Y, Prasad M, Lemon WJ, Hampel H, Wright FA, Kornacker K, LiVolsi V, et al. (2001) Gene expression in papillary thyroid carcinoma reveals highly consistent profiles. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 98:1504415049 Jagla W, Wiede A, Dietzmann K, Rutkowski K, Hoffmann W (2000) Co-localization of TFF3 peptide and oxytocin in the human hypothalamus. FASEB J 14:11261131 Jagla W, Wiede A, Hinz M, Dietzmann K, Gulicher D, Gerlach KL, Hoffmann W (1999) Secretion of TFF-peptides by human salivary glands. Cell Tissue Res 298:161166[CrossRef][Medline] Kao LC, Tulac S, Lobo S, Imani B, Yang JP, Germeyer A, Osteen K, et al. (2002) Global gene profiling in human endometrium during the window of implantation. Endocrinology 143:21192138 Karam SM, Tomasetto C, Rio MC (2004) Trefoil factor 1 is required for the commitment programme of mouse oxyntic epithelial progenitors. Gut 53:14081415 Kouznetsova I, Peitz U, Vieth M, Meyer F, Vestergaard EM, Malfertheiner P, Roessner A, et al. (2004) A gradient of TFF3 (trefoil factor family 3) peptide synthesis within the normal human gastric mucosa. Cell Tissue Res 316:155165[CrossRef][Medline] Kutta H, Steven P, Varoga D, Paulsen FP (2004) TFF peptides in the human false vocal folds of the larynx. Peptides 25:811818[CrossRef][Medline] Langer G, Jagla W, Behrens-Baumann W, Walter S, Hoffmann W (1999) Secretory peptides TFF1 and TFF3 synthesized in human conjunctival goblet cells. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 40:22202224 Lee JY, Eom EM, Kim DS, Ha-Lee YM, Lee DH (2003) Analysis of gene expression profiles of gastric normal and cancer tissues by SAGE. Genomics 82:7885[CrossRef][Medline] Lee SH, Oh BH, Lee HM, Choi JO, Jung KY (2001) Expression of mRNA of trefoil factor peptides in human nasal mucosa. Acta Otolaryngol 121:849853[CrossRef][Medline] Lefebvre O, Chenard MP, Masson R, Linares J, Dierich A, LeMeur M, Wendling C, et al. (1996) Gastric mucosa abnormalities and tumorigenesis in mice lacking the pS2 trefoil protein. Science 274:259262 Lin J, Nadroo AM, Chen W, Holzman IR, Fan QX, Babyatsky MW (2003) Ontogeny and prenatal expression of trefoil factor 3/ITF in the human intestine. Early Hum Dev 71:103109[CrossRef][Medline] Longman RJ, Douthwaite J, Sylvester PA, Poulsom R, Corfield AP, Thomas MG, Wright NA (2000) Coordinated localisation of mucins and trefoil peptides in the ulcer associated cell lineage and the gastrointestinal mucosa. Gut 47:792800 Madsen J, Tornoe I, Nielsen O, Lausen M, Krebs I, Mollenhauer J, Kollender G, et al. (2003) CRP-ductin, the mouse homologue of gp-340/deleted in malignant brain tumors 1 (DMBT1), binds gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria and interacts with lung surfactant protein D. Eur J Immunol 33:23272336[CrossRef][Medline] Mashimo H, Wu DC, Podolsky DK, Fishman MC (1996) Impaired defense of intestinal mucosa in mice lacking intestinal trefoil factor. Science 274:262265 Ohshio G, Suwa H, Kawaguchi Y, Imamura M, Yamaoka Y, Yamabe H, Matsumoto M, et al. (2000) Differential expression of human spasmolytic polypeptide (trefoil factor family-2) in pancreatic carcinomas, ampullary carcinomas, and mucin-producing tumors of the pancreas. Dig Dis Sci 45:659664[CrossRef][Medline] Paulsen F, Varoga D, Paulsen A, Tsokos M (2005) Trefoil factor family (TFF) peptides of normal human Vater's ampulla. Cell Tissue Res 321:6774[CrossRef][Medline] Paulsen FP, Hinz M, Schaudig U, Thale AB, Hoffmann W (2002) TFF peptides in the human efferent tear ducts. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 43:33593364 Playford RJ, Marchbank T, Goodlad RA, Chinery RA, Poulsom R, Hanby AM (1996) Transgenic mice that overexpress the human trefoil peptide pS2 have an increased resistance to intestinal damage. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 93:21372142 Podolsky DK, Lynch-Devaney K, Stow JL, Oates P, Murgue B, De-Beaumont M, Sands BE, et al. (1993) Identification of human intestinal trefoil factor. Goblet cell-specific expression of a peptide targeted for apical secretion. J Biol Chem 268:66946702 Poulsom R, Chinery R, Sarraf C, Van Noorden S, Stamp GW, Lalani EN, Elia G, et al. (1993) Trefoil peptide gene expression in small intestinal Crohn's disease and dietary adaptation. J Clin Gastroenterol 17:S7891 Rio MC, Chenard MP, Wolf C, Marcellin L, Tomasetto C, Lathe R, Bellocq JP, et al. (1991) Induction of pS2 and hSP genes as markers of mucosal ulceration of the digestive tract. Gastroenterology 100:375379[Medline] Sasaki M, Ikeda H, Ohira S, Ishikawa A, Nakanuma Y (2004a) Expression of trefoil factor family 1, 2, and 3 peptide is augmented in hepatolithiasis. Peptides 25:763770[CrossRef][Medline] Sasaki M, Tsuneyama K, Nakanuma Y (2003) Aberrant expression of trefoil factor family 1 in biliary epithelium in hepatolithiasis and cholangiocarcinoma. Lab Invest 83:14031413[CrossRef] Sasaki M, Tsuneyama K, Saito T, Kataoka H, Mollenhauer J, Poustka A, Nakanuma Y (2004b) Site-characteristic expression and induction of trefoil factor family 1, 2 and 3 and malignant brain tumor-1 in normal and diseased intrahepatic bile ducts relates to biliary pathophysiology. Liver Int 24:2937[CrossRef][Medline] Takano T, Miyauchi A, Yoshida H, Kuma K, Amino N (2004) High-throughput differential screening of mRNAs by serial analysis of gene expression: decreased expression of trefoil factor 3 mRNA in thyroid follicular carcinomas. Br J Cancer 90:16001605[CrossRef][Medline] Taupin DR, Kinoshita K, Podolsky DK (2000) Intestinal trefoil factor confers colonic epithelial resistance to apoptosis. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 97:799804 Taupin D, Podolsky DK (2003) Trefoil factors: initiators of mucosal healing. Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol 4:721732[CrossRef][Medline] Terris B, Blaveri E, Crnogorac-Jurcevic T, Jones M, Missiaglia E, Ruszniewski P, Sauvanet A, et al. (2002) Characterization of gene expression profiles in intraductal papillary-mucinous tumors of the pancreas. Am J Pathol 160:17451754 Thim L (1997) Trefoil peptides: from structure to function. Cell Mol Life Sci 53:888903[CrossRef][Medline] Thim L, Woldike HF, Nielsen PF, Christensen M, Lynch-Devaney K, Podolsky DK (1995) Characterization of human and rat intestinal trefoil factor produced in yeast. Biochemistry 34:47574764[CrossRef][Medline] Van De Bovenkamp JH, Korteland-Van Male AM, Warson C, Buller HA, Einerhand AW, Ectors NL, Dekker J (2003) Gastric-type mucin and TFF-peptide expression in Barrett's oesophagus is disturbed during increased expression of MUC2. Histopathology 42:555565[CrossRef][Medline] Vestergaard EM, Brynskov J, Ejskjaer K, Clausen JT, Thim L, Nexo E, Poulsen SS (2004) Immunoassays of human trefoil factors 1 and 2: measured on serum from patients with inflammatory bowel disease. Scand J Clin Lab Invest 64:146156[CrossRef][Medline] Vestergaard EM, Poulsen SS, Gronbaek H, Larsen R, Nielsen AM, Ejskjaer K, Clausen JT, et al. (2002) Development and evaluation of an ELISA for human trefoil factor 3. Clin Chem 48:16891695 Wiede A, Hinz M, Canzler E, Franke K, Quednow C, Hoffmann W (2001) Synthesis and localization of the mucin-associated TFF-peptides in the human uterus. Cell Tissue Res 303:109115[CrossRef][Medline] Wiede A, Jagla W, Welteleas T, Kohnlein T, Busk H, Hoffmann W (1999) Localization of TFF3, a new mucus-associated peptide of the human respiratory tract. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 159:13301335 Wright NA, Poulsom R, Stamp G, Van Noorden S, Sarraf C, Elia G, Ahnen D, et al. (1993) Trefoil peptide gene expression in gastrointestinal epithelial cells in inflammatory bowel disease. Gastroenterology 104:1220[Medline] Wright NA, Poulsom R, Stamp GW, Hall PA, Jeffery RE, Longcroft JM, Rio MC, et al. (1990) Epidermal growth factor (EGF/URO) induces expression of regulatory peptides in damaged human gastrointestinal tissues. J Pathol 162:279284[CrossRef][Medline]
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||