Therapy with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) is associated with enteropathy in humans and experimental animals, a cause of considerable morbidity. Unlike foregut NSAID-associated mucosal lesions, most treatments for this condition are of little efficacy. We propose that the endogenously-released intestinotrophic hormone glucagon-like peptide-2 (GLP-2) prevents the development of NSAID-induced enteropathy. Since the short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) receptor FFA3 is expressed on enteroendocrine L cells and on enteric nerves in the gastrointestinal tract, we further hypothesized that activation of FFA3 on L cells protects the mucosa from injury via GLP-2 release with enhanced duodenal HCO3− secretion. We thus investigated the effects of synthetic selective FFA3 agonists with consequent GLP-2 release on NSAID-induced enteropathy.
We measured duodenal HCO3− secretion in isoflurane anesthetized rats in a duodenal loop perfused with the selective FFA3 agonists MQC or AR420626 (AR) while measuring released GLP-2 in the portal vein (PV). Intestinal injury was produced by indomethacin (IND, 10 mg/kg, sc) with or without MQC (1 – 10 mg/kg, ig) or AR (0.01 – 0.1 mg/kg, ig or ip) treatment.
Luminal perfusion with MQC or AR (0.1 – 10 μM) dose-dependently augmented duodenal HCO3− secretion accompanied by increased GLP-2 concentrations in the PV. The effect of FFA3 agonists was inhibited by co-perfusion of the selective FFA3 antagonist CF3-MQC (30 μM). AR-induced augmented HCO3− secretion was reduced by iv injection of the GLP-2 receptor antagonist GLP-2(3-33) (3 nmol/kg), or by pretreatment with the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) inhibitor CFTRinh-172 (1 mg/kg, ip). IND-induced small intestinal ulcers were dose-dependently inhibited by intragastric administration of MQC or AR. GLP-2(3-33) (1 mg/kg, ip) or CF3-MQC (1 mg/kg, ig) reversed AR-associated reduction of IND-induced enteropathy. In contrast, ip injection of AR had no effect on enteropathy.
These results suggest that luminal FFA3 activation enhances mucosal defenses and prevents NSAID-induced enteropathy via the GLP-2 pathway. The selective FFA3 agonist may be a potential therapeutic candidate for NSAID-induced enteropathy.