Hormonal effects on the development changes of mouse small intestinal glycolipids

Specific ganglioside changes in extraneural tissues of adult rats with hypothyroidism

Adults rats with hypothyroidism were prepared by administration of 6-propyl-2-thiouracil (PTU) or methimazole, and the tissues were examined for their gangliosides through methods including glycolipid-overlay techniques. Normal thyroid tissue contained GM3, GD3, and GD1a as the major gangliosides, with GM1, GD1b, GT1b, and GQ1b in lesser amounts. The goitrous tissue of PTU-induced hypothyroid rats had higher concentrations of GM1 and GD1a with a concomitant decrease of GM3. The amount of GT3 in thyroid tissue was increased in hypothyroid animals. While normal liver tissue had a complex ganglioside pattern with a- and b-series gangliosides, the PTU-induced hypothyroid tissue showed a simpler ganglioside profile that consisted mainly of a-series gangliosides with almost undetectable amounts of b-series gangliosides. The expression of c-series gangliosides was suppressed in the hypothyroid liver tissue. Heart tissue had higher contents of GM3 and GT3 than control. No apparent change was observed in the compositions of major and c-series gangliosides in other extraneural tissues (i.e., kidney, lung, spleen, thymus, pancreas, testis, skeletal muscle, and eye lenses), and neural tissues (i.e., cerebrum and cerebellum) from PTU-induced hypothyroid rats. The ganglioside changes of thyroid, liver, and heart tissues were reproduced in corresponding tissues of methimazole-induced hypothyroid rats. These results suggest that hypothyroid conditions affect the biosynthesis and expression of gangliosides in specific tissue and cell types.

Adverse host responses to bacterial toxins in human infants

Bacterial toxin interaction with the intestinal epithelium is regulated developmentally as well as by nutritional factors. It is the binding of bacterial toxins to the epithelium followed by several events that forms the basis of infantile diarrhea, a leading cause of morbidity and mortality world-wide. There has been increasing interest in bacterial toxin interaction with the enterocyte, postreceptor events that follow and the effect of developmental regulation on necrotizing enterocolitis. Diet and environmental factors can provide a major influence on bacterial-enterocyte interaction. Particularly important is the role of breast milk and its constituents, as well as probiotics, in this regard. The purpose of this review is to provide a brief overview on this complex interaction.

Bacterial toxin interaction with the developing intestine

An important approach to the major health problem of bacterial infection in young children has been to examine bacterial toxin binding to microvillus membrane receptors, the signal transduction produced by that interaction and the mechanisms of fluid secretion in the developing intestine as a basis for toxigenic diarrhea in the infant population. These studies indicate that receptor binding and effector responses may be subjected to developmental regulation. This regulation process of toxin interaction with the developing intestine may have an enhanced or harmful effect or, under some circumstances, may have a beneficial effect and be protective to the vulnerable child. Specific mechanisms for the developmental control of receptor expression may involve the regulation of individual glycosyltransferases responsible for the addition of receptor sugar sequences to glycolipids and/or glycoproteins, presumably at the transcriptional level. Furthermore, although highly speculative at this point, the differential expression of signal transducers (e.g., guanine nucleotide-regulatory proteins or G proteins) and ion transporters (e.g., Na+,K(+)-stimulated adenosine triphosphatase, the Cl- channels, etc.) during development may also alter the neonatal host's responsiveness. Therefore, the developmental control of microvillus membrane receptors, signal transduction mechanisms, and ion transport systems in the gastro-intestinal tract may in part contribute to the altered host sensitivity in toxigenic diarrhea of infancy.

The activity of GD3 synthase modulates the ganglioside pattern in rat liver

Variations of the ganglioside composition in the livers of Wistar rats correlated with the activity of GD3 synthase in the corresponding liver homogenates. With increasing enzyme activity, higher proportions of b-series gangliosides (GD3, GD1b, GT1b) were detected. No significant changes in the activity of GM2 synthase or GM1 synthase were observed, indicating a regulatory function for GD3 synthase in this tissue. Young animals showed an average GD3 synthase activity of 0.5-0.6 nmol.h-1.mg protein-1 without sex-dependent variations. Among the older animals, however, males expressed an activity five-fold higher than females, suggesting that this enzyme might be affected by hormones.

Dexamethasone-induced alterations in the glycosphingolipids of rat proximal small-intestinal mucosa

Prior studies have demonstrated that glucocorticoids can influence the structure and function of several different organs, including the small intestine. However, to date, the effects of glucocorticoids on the glycosphingolipids of the rat small intestinal mucosa have not been examined. In the present experiments, male albino rats of the Sherman strain were subcutaneously administered dexamethasone (100 micrograms/100 g body wt. per day) or diluent for 4 days, and the ceramide, acidic and neutral glycosphingolipid compositions of the proximal small intestine of these animals were examined and compared. The results of these studies demonstrate that dexamethasone administration: (1) increased the content and relative percentage of hematoside (GM3) in this tissue; (2) increased the percentage of N-glycoylneuraminic acid of hematoside; (3) decreased the percentage of the long-chain base phytosphingosine of hematoside, glucosyl- and globotriaosylceramide; and (4) did not appear to influence significantly the concentration of the neutral glycosphingolipids or ceramide in this tissue. These data, therefore, indicate that dexamethasone administration induces alterations in the glycosphingolipids, particularly hematoside, of rat small-intestinal mucosa.

Distribution of glycosphingolipids of monkey small and large intestinal mucosa

The ganglioside and neutral glycosphingolipid composition of adult monkey small and large intestinal mucosa were characterized and compared. GM3, GM2 and GD1A were found to be the principal gangliosides in each of these tissues. Dihexosylceramide was the major neutral glycosphingolipid of both organs. The total content of gangliosides and neutral glycolipids/ceramide, however, was ca. four-fold and two-fold higher, respectively, in small intestinal than colonic mucosa. While all glycosphingolipids examined contained hydroxy and nonhydroxy fatty acids, the former fatty acids accounted for 60-90% of the total fatty acids in both organs. Sphingosine was the predominant long chain base of ceramide, mono-, di-, tri- and tetrahexosylceramide, whereas phytosphingosine was the major base of GM3 in both tissues. The results of these studies demonstrate that while many similarities of monkey small and large intestinal glycosphingolipids exist, qualitative and quantitative differences are present along the length of the monkey gut. These differences may be at least partially responsible for certain of the well-recognized variations in normal physiological and pathological processes that occur in these organs.