BioProject

Separate populations of M cells have been detected in the follicle-associated epithelium of Peyer’s patches (PPs) and the villous epithelium of the small intestine, but the traits shared by or distinguishing the two populations have not been characterized. More...

Separate populations of M cells have been detected in the follicle-associated epithelium of Peyer’s patches (PPs) and the villous epithelium of the small intestine, but the traits shared by or distinguishing the two populations have not been characterized. Our separate study has demonstrated that M cells are rare but M-like cells positive for lectin Ulex europaeus agglutinin-1 and our newly developed M cell-specific mAb NKM16-2-4 are induced by oral administration of cholera toxin in the duodenal villous epithelium. Here, we determined the gene expression of PP M cells, villous M-like cells, and intestinal epithelial cells (IECs) isolated by a novel approach using FACS. Specific expression of glycoprotein 2 (GP2) and MARCKS-like protein (MLP) by PP M cells and not villous M-like cells was confirmed by additional mRNA and protein analyses. Comprehensive gene profiling also suggested that villous M-like cells share traits of both PP M cells and IECs, a finding that is supported by their unique expression of specific chemokines. The genome-wide assessment of gene expression facilitates discovery of M cell-specific molecules and enhances the molecular understanding of M cell immunobiology. Keywords: Cell type comparison Overall design: Epithelial cells in duodenal Peyer's patches or villi of BALB/c mice treated with or without cholera toxin were dissociated and stained with NKM16-2-4 monoclonal antibody (mAb)-FITC, lectin UEA-1-PE, and anti-CD45 mAb-APC-Cy7. Naive PP M cells (NKM16-2-4+, UEA-1+, and CD45- cells), CT-induced villous M-like cells (NKM16-2-4+, UEA-1+, and CD45- cells), and naive intestinal epithelial cells (NKM16-2-4-, UEA-1-, and CD45- cells) were isolated by FACS. Affymetrix GeneChip Mouse Genome 430 2.0 Array was used in triplicate for each cell fraction. Less...