Hydrogen Sulfide Metabolizing Enzymes in the Intestinal Mucosa in Pediatric and Adult Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Nathalie Stummer,
Daniel Weghuber,
René G. Feichtinger,
Sara Huber,
Johannes A. Mayr,
Barbara Kofler,
Daniel Neureiter,
Eckhard Klieser,
Sarah Hochmann,
Wanda Lauth,
Anna M. Schneider
Affiliations
Nathalie Stummer
Department of Pediatrics, Salzburger Landeskliniken (SALK) and Paracelsus Medical University (PMU), 5020 Salzburg, Austria
Daniel Weghuber
Department of Pediatrics, Salzburger Landeskliniken (SALK) and Paracelsus Medical University (PMU), 5020 Salzburg, Austria
René G. Feichtinger
Department of Pediatrics, Salzburger Landeskliniken (SALK) and Paracelsus Medical University (PMU), 5020 Salzburg, Austria
Sara Huber
Research Program for Receptor Biochemistry and Tumor Metabolism, Department of Pediatrics, Salzburger Landeskliniken (SALK) and Paracelsus Medical University (PMU), 5020 Salzburg, Austria
Johannes A. Mayr
Department of Pediatrics, Salzburger Landeskliniken (SALK) and Paracelsus Medical University (PMU), 5020 Salzburg, Austria
Barbara Kofler
Department of Pediatrics, Salzburger Landeskliniken (SALK) and Paracelsus Medical University (PMU), 5020 Salzburg, Austria
Daniel Neureiter
Institute of Pathology, Salzburger Landeskliniken (SALK) and Paracelsus Medical University (PMU), 5020 Salzburg, Austria
Eckhard Klieser
Institute of Pathology, Salzburger Landeskliniken (SALK) and Paracelsus Medical University (PMU), 5020 Salzburg, Austria
Sarah Hochmann
Cell Therapy Institute, Spinal Cord Injury and Tissue Regeneration Center Salzburg (SCI-TReCS), Paracelsus Medical University (PMU), 5020 Salzburg, Austria
Wanda Lauth
Department of Mathematics, Paris Lodron University, 5020 Salzburg, Austria
Anna M. Schneider
Department of Pediatrics, Salzburger Landeskliniken (SALK) and Paracelsus Medical University (PMU), 5020 Salzburg, Austria
Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) is a toxic gas that has important regulatory functions. In the colon, H2S can be produced and detoxified endogenously. Both too little and too much H2S exposure are associated with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), a chronic intestinal disease mainly classified as Crohn’s disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC). As the pathogenesis of IBD remains elusive, this study’s aim was to investigate potential differences in the expression of H2S-metabolizing enzymes in normal aging and IBD. Intestinal mucosal biopsies of 25 adults and 22 children with IBD along with those of 26 healthy controls were stained immunohistochemically for cystathionine-γ-lyase (CSE), 3-mercapto-sulfurtransferase (3-MST), ethylmalonic encephalopathy 1 protein (ETHE1), sulfide:quinone oxidoreductase (SQOR) and thiosulfate sulfurtransferase (TST). Expression levels were calculated by multiplication of the staining intensity and percentage of positively stained cells. Healthy adults showed an overall trend towards lower expression of H2S-metabolizing enzymes than healthy children. Adults with IBD also tended to have lower expression compared to controls. A similar trend was seen in the enzyme expression of children with IBD compared to controls. These results indicate an age-related decrease in the expression of H2S-metabolizing enzymes and a dysfunctional H2S metabolism in IBD, which was less pronounced in children.