Abstract
Short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) are 2-4 carbon monocarboxylates produced by bacterial fermentation in the large intestine, and known to induce a variety of physiological and pathophysiological effects on the intestine. In the previous study, we have reported that the SCFA receptor, GPR43, is expressed by the peptide YY-containing enteroendocrine cells and mucosal mast cells in the rat intestine. In the present study, we investigated the expression of the SCFA receptors, GPR43 and GPR41 in the human colon by RT-PCR, Western blotting, and immunohistochemistry, and the effects of SCFAs on transepithelial ion transport were measured by Ussing flux chamber technique. Segments of human colon were obtained with informed consent from the patients undergoing colectomy for carcinoma. Total RNA and proteins were extracted from the small sections in order to analyze the expression of SCFA receptors by RT-PCR and western blot, respectively. Moreover, mucosa-submucosal preparations were made by removing the muscle layer from the tissues, and short-circuit current were measured as an index of transepithelial ion transport. As a result, SCFA receptors were expressed in the mucosa, and propionate changed transepithelial ion transport in the human colon. [J Physiol Sci. 2007;57 Suppl:S77]
