In previous work, we identified xanthine oxidase (XO) as an important enzyme in the interaction between the host and enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) and Shiga-toxigenic E. coli (STEC). Many of the biological effects of XO were due to the hydrogen peroxide produced by the enzyme. We wondered, however, if uric acid generated by XO also had biological effects in the gastrointestinal tract. Uric acid triggered inflammatory responses in the gut, including increased submucosal edema and release of extracellular DNA from host cells. While uric acid alone was unable to trigger a chloride secretory response in intestinal monolayers, it did potentiate the secretory response to cyclic AMP agonists. Uric acid crystals were formed in vivo in the lumen of the gut in response to EPEC and STEC infections. While trying to visualize uric acid crystals formed during EPEC and STEC infections, we noticed that uric acid crystals became enmeshed in the neutrophilic extracellular traps (NETs) produced from host cells in response to bacteria in cultured cell systems and in the intestine in vivo. Uric acid levels in the gut lumen increased in response to exogenous DNA, and these increases were enhanced by the actions of DNase I. Interestingly, addition of DNase I reduced the numbers of EPEC bacteria recovered after a 20-h infection and protected against EPEC-induced histologic damage.
Xanthine oxidase (XO), also known as xanthine oxidoreductase (XOR), has been hailed as an important host defense against enteric pathogens for decades (1, 2). In a recent study, however, we found that XO could have deleterious as well as beneficial effects in the context of infection with Shiga-toxigenic Escherichia coli (STEC) (3). One of the deleterious effects of XO was its ability to induce production of the Shiga toxins (Stx) from STEC bacteria. Low to intermediate amounts of XO activity generated enough H 2 O 2 to induce Stx but not enough to actually kill STEC or enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC) bacteria, resulting in an "uncanny valley" of worsened disease outcome.In addition to H 2 O 2 , XO also generates uric acid as a product. While uric acid used to be viewed as an inert waste product of purine metabolism, recent advances have highlighted the biological roles of uric acid in inflammation and innate immunity (4, 5). Although monosodium urate (MSU) is the technically more accurate term, we will use "uric acid" here, since the latter term is deeply entrenched in the biomedical literature. In a previous study, we found that uric acid crystals were formed in vivo in response to EPEC and STEC infection in the lumen of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract (6). In the present study, we focused on determining the biological effects of uric acid, as opposed to H 2 O 2 , produced by XO. We investigated the effects of uric acid on inflammatory responses, as well as secretory responses, in intestinal tissues and found that uric acid acted as a potentiator or modulator of proinflammatory or prosecretory agonists and that its crystals became enmeshed in the...