Premium
Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor Activation Differentially Alters Cholera Toxin‐Specific IgA Levels in Feces and Serum
Author(s) -
King Aspen,
Gawronska Elleanour,
Metten Madeline,
DeKrey Gregory
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.31.1_supplement.667.2
Subject(s) - aryl hydrocarbon receptor , cholera toxin , feces , immunoglobulin a , antibody , toxin , receptor , endocrinology , medicine , immunology , immune system , chemistry , immunoglobulin g , biology , microbiology and biotechnology , biochemistry , transcription factor , gene
Secretory IgA plays a critical role in neutralizing enteric toxins and protecting against some intestinal pathogens. In mice, activation of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) with 2,3,7,8‐tetrachlorodibenzo‐ p ‐dioxin (TCDD) has been shown to suppress antigen‐specific systemic IgM and IgG responses, whereas the impact on mucosal IgA responses is less clear. The goal of this study was to determine if TCDD exposure could alter fecal levels of antigen‐specific IgA after oral immunization. Female C57Bl/6 mice were administered peanut oil (vehicle) or TCDD (2.5, 10 or 40 μg/Kg) orally. On the following day, each animal was immunized with whole Cholera toxin (CT, 10 μg, po) with two subsequent immunizations being given at 10‐day intervals. Antibody levels were measured by ELISA in fecal extracts each week, and in serum at termination (week 4). We found that total serum IgA levels were significantly decreased (P < 0.05) in TCDD‐treated animals, relative to controls. In contrast, no change in total fecal IgA levels was observed in TCDD‐treated mice at any time point measured (weeks 1–4). A significant and dose‐dependent decrease in CT‐specific serum IgA, IgM and IgG1 was observed in TCDD‐treated animals (P ≤ 0.05). In feces, CT‐specific IgA levels were significantly decreased (P ≤ 0.05) in TCDD‐treated mice at week 2, but not at later time points (weeks 3 and 4). These results demonstrate that intestinal IgA responses can recover from AhR‐mediated suppression more rapidly than systemic responses. Support or Funding Information Supported by the University of Northern Colorado.