Published online Feb 21, 2018. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v24.i7.775
Peer-review started: December 6, 2017
First decision: December 12, 2017
Revised: December 13, 2017
Accepted: December 19, 2017
Article in press: December 19, 2017
Published online: February 21, 2018
Processing time: 64 Days and 15.3 Hours
To investigate by immunostaining glucose transporter expression in human colorectal mucosa in controls and patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
Colorectal samples were obtained from patients undergoing lower endoscopic colonoscopy or recto-sigmoidoscopy. Patients diagnosed with ulcerative colitis (n = 18) or Crohn’s disease (n = 10) and scheduled for diagnostic colonoscopy were enrolled. Patients who underwent colonoscopy for prevention screening of colorectal cancer or were followed-up after polypectomy or had a history of lower gastrointestinal symptoms were designated as the control group (CTRL, n = 16). Inflammatory status of the mucosa at the sampling site was evaluated histologically and/or endoscopically. A total of 147 biopsies of colorectal mucosa were collected and processed for immunohistochemistry analysis. The expression of GLUT2, SGLT1, and GLUT5 glucose transporters was investigated using immunoperoxidase labeling. To compare immunoreactivity of GLUT5 and LYVE-1, which is a marker for lymphatic vessel endothelium, double-labeled confocal microscopy was used.
Immunohistochemical analysis revealed that GLUT2, SGLT1, and GLUT5 were expressed only in short epithelial portions of the large intestinal mucosa. No important differences were observed in glucose transporter expression between the samples obtained from the different portions of the colorectal tract and between the different patient groups. Unexpectedly, GLUT5 expression was also identified in vessels, mainly concentrated in specific areas where the vessels were clustered. Immunostaining with LYVE-1 and GLUT5 antibodies revealed that GLUT5-immunoreactive (-IR) clusters of vessels were concentrated in areas internal to those that were LYVE-1 positive. GLUT5 and LYVE-1 did not appear to be colocalized but rather showed a close topographical relationship on the endothelium. Based on their LYVE-1 expression, GLUT5-IR vessels were identified as lymphatic. Both inflamed and non-inflamed mucosal colorectal tissue biopsies from the IBD and CTRL patients showed GLUT5-IR clusters of lymphatic vessels.
Glucose transporter immunoreactivity is present in colorectal mucosa in controls and IBD patients. GLUT5 expression is also associated with lymphatic vessels. This novel finding aids in the characterization of lymphatic vasculature in IBD patients.
Core tip: Our study demonstrates that GLUT2, SGLT1, and GLUT5 glucose transporters are expressed in the colorectal mucosa in controls and patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). In addition, it provides first evidence that GLUT5 expression is associated with lymphatic vessels in controls and IBD patients. GLUT5-immunoreactive vessels were isolated or clustered in specific areas. We interpreted the presence of clusters as a pattern related to proliferative zones. As GLUT5 is the main fructose transporter, fructose may have a role in the atypical aggregation of lymphatic vessels. This novel finding yields further insight into the characterization of lymphatic vasculature, whose dysfunction is a long-recognized feature in humans with IBD.