Abstract

Obesity is a global epidemic affecting chronic inflammatory diseases. Primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) is a chronic cholestatic liver disease that can occur as an extraintestinal manifestation of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Previously we reported that patients with PSC who are obese have a higher risk of advanced liver disease. Currently it is unknown how obesity accelerates or worsens PSC. We evaluated the progression of PSC in an antigen-driven cholangitis mouse model of diet-induced obesity. Obesity was induced in our murine model of immune-mediated cholangitis (OVAbil). OVAbil mice were fed standard chow or high-fat/sucrose diet for twelve weeks followed by induction of biliary inflammation by OVA-specific T cell transfer. Histopathological damage in portal tracts was scored and serum collected. Neutralizing antibodies against IL-15 were administered daily until study termination. Obese mice developed exacerbated liver inflammation and damage. Immune cell phenotyping in liver revealed greater numbers of neutrophils and CD8+ T cells in obese mice. Higher levels of cytokines and chemokines were found in obese mice with cholangitis. Immuno-neutralizing antibodies against IL-15 greatly attenuated cholangitis in obese mice. Obesity exacerbated experimental PSC in part by overproduction of IL-15. Timely targeting of IL-15 may slow the progression of PSC.

Details

Title
Neutralization of IL-15 abrogates experimental immune-mediated cholangitis in diet-induced obese mice
Author
Reyes, José L 1 ; Vannan, Danielle T 2 ; Vo, Tina 3 ; Gulamhusein, Aliya 4 ; Beck, Paul L 3 ; Reimer, Raylene A 5 ; Eksteen, Bertus 6 

 Snyder Institute for Chronic Diseases, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada; Laboratorio de Inmunología Experimental y Regulación de la Inflamación Hepato-Intestinal, UBIMED, FES Iztacala UNAM, Estado de México, Mexico 
 Snyder Institute for Chronic Diseases, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada; Aspen Woods Clinic, Calgary, Alberta, Canada 
 Snyder Institute for Chronic Diseases, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada 
 Genomic Hepatobiology Laboratory, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, USA 
 Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada; Faculty of Kinesiology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada 
 Aspen Woods Clinic, Calgary, Alberta, Canada 
Pages
1-12
Publication year
2018
Publication date
Feb 2018
Publisher
Nature Publishing Group
e-ISSN
20452322
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
2002472646
Copyright
© 2018. This work is published under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.