Uridine diphosphate (
UDP) is a proinflammatory
nucleotide implicated in
inflammatory bowel disease. Intestinal
alkaline phosphatase (IAP) is a gut mucosal defense factor capable of inhibiting intestinal
inflammation. We used the
malachite green assay to show that IAP dephosphorylates
UDP. To study the anti-inflammatory effect of IAP,
UDP or other proinflammatory
ligands (LPS,
flagellin,
Pam3Cys, or TNF-α) in the presence or absence of IAP were applied to cell cultures, and
IL-8 was measured.
UDP caused dose-dependent increase in
IL-8 release by immune cells and two gut epithelial cell lines, and IAP treatment abrogated
IL-8 release. Costimulation with
UDP and other inflammatory
ligands resulted in a synergistic increase in
IL-8 release, which was prevented by IAP treatment. In vivo,
UDP in the presence or absence of IAP was instilled into a small intestinal loop model in wild-type and IAP-knockout mice.
Luminal contents were applied to cell culture, and
cytokine levels were measured in culture supernatant and intestinal tissue.
UDP-treated
luminal contents induced more
inflammation on target cells, with a greater inflammatory response to contents from IAP-KO mice treated with
UDP than from WT mice. Additionally,
UDP treatment increased TNF-α levels in intestinal tissue of IAP-KO mice, and cotreatment with IAP reduced
inflammation to control levels. Taken together, these studies show that IAP prevents
inflammation caused by
UDP alone and in combination with other
ligands, and the anti-inflammatory effect of IAP against
UDP persists in mouse small intestine. The benefits of IAP in
intestinal disease may be partly due to inhibition of the proinflammatory activity of
UDP.