<i>Ace</i> Deficiency Induces Intestinal Inflammation in Zebrafish

oleh: Mingxia Wei, Qinqing Yu, Enguang Li, Yibing Zhao, Chen Sun, Hongyan Li, Zhenhui Liu, Guangdong Ji

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: MDPI AG 2024-05-01

Deskripsi

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a nonspecific chronic inflammatory disease resulting from an immune disorder in the intestine that is prone to relapse and incurable. The understanding of the pathogenesis of IBD remains unclear. In this study, we found that <i>ace</i> (angiotensin-converting enzyme), expressed abundantly in the intestine, plays an important role in IBD. The deletion of <i>ace</i> in zebrafish caused intestinal inflammation with increased expression of the inflammatory marker genes interleukin 1 beta (<i>il1b</i>), matrix metallopeptidase 9 (<i>mmp9</i>), myeloid-specific peroxidase (<i>mpx</i>), leukocyte cell-derived chemotaxin-2-like (<i>lect2l</i>), and chemokine (C-X-C motif) ligand 8b (<i>cxcl8b</i>). Moreover, the secretion of mucus in the <i>ace<sup>−/−</sup></i> mutants was significantly higher than that in the wild-type zebrafish, validating the phenotype of intestinal inflammation. This was further confirmed by the IBD model constructed using dextran sodium sulfate (DSS), in which the mutant zebrafish had a higher susceptibility to enteritis. Our study reveals the role of <i>ace</i> in intestinal homeostasis, providing a new target for potential therapeutic interventions.