New insights for bowel dysfunction via targeted matriptase modulation

Abstract

Matriptase is a type II transmembrane serine protease found in almost all types of epithelial cells. It is found in abundance in the GI tract, particularly the small intestine. Many intestinal pathologies result in epithelial denudation and compromised barrier and most treatment options target the specific pathogens with less emphasis on repair of the intestinal wall and restoration of the physiological epithelial barrier. The aim of this study was to gain a more detailed understanding of the mechanisms by which this transmembrane serine-protease is able to affect the intestinal epithelium using porcine intestinal epithelial IPEC-J2 cells cultured on membrane inserts. These monolayers were treated with selective matriptase inhibitor, MI-432, at 10, 25, 50 μM, and sphingosine-1phosphate (S1P), 200 ng/mL, as a matriptase activator.