IFN-γ renders human intestinal epithelial cells responsive to lipopolysaccharide of Vibrio cholerae by down-regulation of DMBT1.

Although intestinal epithelial cells (IECs) are continuously exposed to high densities of enteric bacteria, they are not highly responsive to microbe-associated molecular patterns (MAMPs). However, inflammatory cytokines such as interferon-γ (IFN-γ) are potentially capable of priming IECs to enhance responsiveness to MAMPs. In this study, we observed that heat-killed Vibrio cholerae (HKVC) and its lipopolysaccharide (LPS) poorly induced IL-8 production in a human IEC line, HT-29. However, both HKVC and the LPS showed a substantial induction of IL-8 production in IFN-γ-primed HT-29 cells. LPS-induced IL-8 production was proportional to the IFN-γ-priming period and LPS could not induce IL-8 production in the presence of polymyxin B. Moreover, LPS-induced IL-8 production in the IFN-γ-primed HT-29 cells was mediated through signaling pathways requiring p38 kinase and ERK, but not the JNK/SAPK pathway. Since deleted in malignant brain tumor 1 (DMBT1) is known to interact with and antagonize the action of LPS, we hypothesized that IFN-γ enhanced the responsiveness to LPS in HT-29 through down-regulation of DMBT1. We found that IFN-γ indeed attenuated DMBT1 expression at both the mRNA and protein levels in HT-29 cells. Conversely, when the cells were transfected with small interfering RNA to specifically silence DMBT1, IL-8 expression was augmented even in the absence of IFN-γ and the augmentation was further enhanced by treatment with V. cholerae LPS. Since IFN-γ is known to increase IFN-β expression in the IECs, we examined if IFN-β functioned similar to IFN-γ. Although IFN-β alone was able to induce IL-8 expression, it failed to render HT-29 cells responsive to V. cholerae LPS. In conclusion, our study suggests that IFN-γ primes IECs to become responsive to V. cholerae and its LPS by suppressing the expression of DMBT1.