Infection-Induced Colitis in Mice Causes Dynamic and Tissue-Specific Changes in Stress Response and DNA Damage Leading to Colon Cancer
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Infection-induced colitis in mice causes dynamic and tissue-specific changes in stress response and DNA damage leading to colon cancer Aswin Mangericha,b, Charles G. Knutsona, Nicola M. Parryc, Sureshkumar Muthupalanic, Wenjie Yea, Erin Prestwicha, Liang Cuia,1, Jose L. McFalinea, Melissa Mobleyc, Zhongming Gec, Koli Taghizadehd, John S. Wishnoka,d, Gerald N. Wogana,d,e,2, James G. Foxa,c,d,2, Steven R. Tannenbauma,d,e,2, and Peter C. Dedona,d,2 aDepartments of Biological Engineering, and eChemistry, cDivision of Comparative Medicine, and dCenter for Environmental Health Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139; and bUniversity of Konstanz, Department of Biology, D-78457 Konstanz, Germany Contributed by Gerald N. Wogan, May 14, 2012 (sent for review March 20, 2012) −∕− − − Helicobacter hepaticus-infected Rag2 mice emulate many aspects ynitrite (ONOO ), and nitrosoperoxycarbonate (ONOOCO2 ) of human inflammatory bowel disease, including the development (5). Moreover, activated neutrophils are considered the primary of colitis and colon cancer. To elucidate mechanisms of inflamma- source of the potent oxidant and halogenating agent hypochlor- tion-induced carcinogenesis, we undertook a comprehensive ana- ous acid (HOCl) via activation of myeloperoxidase (MPO) (6–8). lysis of histopathology, molecular damage, and gene expression These chemical mediators of inflammation can damage all changes during disease progression in these mice. Infected mice de- classes of cellular molecules, including DNA, RNA, protein, veloped severe colitis and hepatitis by 10 wk post-infection, progres- lipids, and metabolites, by both direct and indirect mechanisms. sing into colon carcinoma by 20 wk post-infection, with pronounced For example, DNA damage caused by halogenation, deamina- pathology in the cecum and proximal colon marked by infiltration tion, and oxidation, as well as by nucleobase adduct formation of neutrophils and macrophages. Transcriptional profiling revealed caused by lipid peroxidation products, can potentially induce de decreased expression of DNA repair and oxidative stress response novo mutations and epigenetic changes initiating tumor develop- genes in colon, but not in liver. Mass spectrometric analysis revealed ment (1, 2, 9). Several recent studies involving mouse models higher levels of DNA and RNA damage products in liver compared to of inflammation have provided evidence supporting such a colon and infection-induced increases in 5-chlorocytosine in DNA scenario (10–12). Similar pathways disrupt the function of RNA, and RNA and hypoxanthine in DNA. Paradoxically, infection was as proposed for major human degenerative diseases such as associated with decreased levels of DNA etheno adducts. Levels Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and atherosclerosis of nucleic acid damage from the same chemical class were strongly (13, 14), whereas protein damage caused by oxidation, nitration, correlated in both liver and colon. The results support a model of and halogenation can impair function and stability, including inflammation-mediated carcinogenesis involving infiltration of those of tumor suppressors, oncogenes, and factors that maintain phagocytes and generation of reactive species that cause local mo- fidelity during DNA replication (4, 15, 16). lecular damage leading to cell dysfunction, mutation, and cell death. To better understand the complex pathophysiology of inflam- There are strong correlations among histopathology, phagocyte mation, we undertook a comprehensive analysis of chemical and infiltration, and damage chemistry that suggest a major role for biological end points in an established model of human IBD: neutrophils in inflammation-associated cancer progression. Further, Rag2−∕− mice infected with Helicobacter hepaticus (17, 18). This paradoxical changes in nucleic acid damage were observed in tissue- Gram-negative spiral bacterium colonizes the liver and intestinal and chemistry-specific patterns. The results also reveal features of crypts of the cecum and the colon of several mouse strains, estab- cell stress response that point to microbial pathophysiology and me- lishing a life-long infection (19, 20). H. hepaticus does not typi- chanisms of cell senescence as important mechanistic links to cancer. cally cause disease in immunocompetent mice, but infection in susceptible inbred strains can lead to hepatitis whereas immuno- ∣ mass spectrometry biomarkers deficient mice develop chronic colitis (21–23). For example, mice lacking the recombinase-activating gene-2 (Rag2) do not possess hronic inflammation is a major risk factor for many human functional lymphocytes, and H. hepaticus infection results in Cdiseases, including cancer. Epidemiological studies suggest chronic colitis and colon cancer (17). H. hepaticus infection in that at least 20% of all cancers are caused by chronic inflamma- Rag2−∕− mice emulates many aspects of human IBD, with colo- tory conditions, such as the causative role of Heliobacter pylori nic and cecal infiltration of macrophages and neutrophils pre- and hepatitis B virus infections in gastric and liver cancer, respec- sumably causing increased production of reactive chemical tively, and the strong association of inflammatory bowel disease species at sites of infection (18). (IBD) and colon cancer (1, 2). Although the underlying molecu- lar mechanisms linking inflammation and cancer are poorly un- derstood, many of the steps have been defined. In the case of Author contributions: A.M., C.G.K., E.P., L.C., J.L.M., J.S.W., G.N.W., J.G.F., S.R.T., and P.C.D. infection, the inciting event is tissue injury, with local release of designed research; A.M., W.Y., E.P., L.C., J.L.M., M.M., Z.G., K.T., and J.S.W. performed research; A.M., N.M.P., S.M., W.Y., E.P., L.C., M.M., Z.G., K.T., J.S.W., G.N.W., J.G.F., S.R.T., cytokines and other chemotactic factors causing infiltration and and P.C.D. analyzed data; and A.M., C.G.K., N.M.P., S.M., W.Y., E.P., L.C., J.L.M., M.M., activation of macrophages and neutrophils to produce large Z.G., K.T., J.S.W., G.N.W., J.G.F., S.R.T., and P.C.D. wrote the paper. quantities of other cytokines and chemokines as well as reactive The authors declare no conflict of interest. chemical species that cause mutagenic and cytotoxic damage 1Present address: Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology, Center for Life (3, 4). For example, up-regulation and activation of inducible NO Sciences, National University of Singapore, 28 Medical Drive, #05-06, Singapore 117456. synthase (iNOS) and NADPH oxidase in macrophages produces 2To whom correspondence may be addressed. E-mail: [email protected], [email protected], •− nitric oxide (NO) and superoxide (O2 ), respectively. Subse- [email protected], or [email protected]. quent reactions yield a battery of reactive species, including the See Author Summary on page 10753 (volume 109, number 27). potent nitrosating agent nitrous anhydride (N2O3) and the oxidiz- This article contains supporting information online at www.pnas.org/lookup/suppl/ • ing and nitrating agents nitrogen dioxide radical (NO2 ), perox- doi:10.1073/pnas.1207829109/-/DCSupplemental. E1820–E1829 ∣ PNAS ∣ Published online June 11, 2012 www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.1207829109 Downloaded by guest on September 26, 2021 To test this hypothesis and identify potential biomarkers of the A B PNAS PLUS pathophysiology of inflammation, we characterized the time course of colon and liver pathology in H. hepaticus-infected Rag2−∕− mice with a battery of quantitative molecular, histolo- gical, and bioanalytical assays. For example, we developed and applied an isotope-dilution liquid chromatography-coupled tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method (SI Appendix, Fig. S1) to quantify 14 different DNA and RNA damage products anticipated to represent the full spectrum of inflammation chemistries. This included the 2-deoxyribo- and ribonucleoside forms of base halogenation (5-chlorocytosine, 5-Cl-C), nitrosa- tive deamination (xanthine, X; hypoxanthine, I), alkylation by lipid peroxidation products (1, N6-ethenoadenine, εA; 3,N4- ethenocytosine, εC), and oxidation (8-oxo-7,8-dihydroguanine, CD 8-oxo-G; spiroiminodihydantoin, Sp; guanidinohydantoin, Gh) (see SI Appendix, Fig. S2). Data from these chemical assays were correlated with quantitative scores from histopathological, immunohistochemical, and gene expression analyses. These ana- lyses revealed a variety of unique features of infection-induced colitis and carcinogenesis. Results Histological Analysis of Colon and Liver from H. hepaticus-infected Rag2−∕− Mice. To monitor and characterize disease progression, colon and liver tissues were harvested at two different time-points following H. hepaticus infection: 10 and 20 weeks post-infection (w p.i.). Quantitative PCR analysis revealed that all infected Fig. 1. H. hepaticus-infected mice develop chronic colitis, colon carcinoma, Rag2−∕− mice were positive for H. hepaticus, whereas the sham and sporadic hepatitis. (A–C) HAIs of colitis were calculated by summing controls were negative. The tissue samples were subjected to a individual scores of inflammation, edema, epithelial defects, crypt atrophy, hyperplasia, and dysplasia for (A)cecum,(B) proximal colon, and (C) distal wide range of analyses, starting with histopathology and immuno- colon. (D) HIs were calculated by summing individual subfeature histopathol- histochemistry. Although there were minimal or no lesions in ogy scores from lobular, portal, and interface inflammation,