Short-chain fatty acids modulate bacterial growth and airway epithelial cell inflammatory responses.

摘要

Short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) are anaerobic bacterial metabolites. Cystic fibrosis (CF) lung disease is a condition caused by mutations in the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductange regulator (CFTR) gene and is characterized by persistent lung inflammation and bacterial colonization. We measured the concentrations of SCFAs in sputum of patients with CF and tested the effect of these compounds on bacterial growth. Furthermore we found that SCFAs can influence the inflammatory protein expression and cytokine release in airway epithelial cells. SCFAs differentially alter cytokine release in CF bronchial epithelial cells (CFBE) compared to CFBE expressing wild-type CFTR. We also studied the effect of SCFAs in an acute lung injury model in BALB/cJ mice and found that intratracheally administered SCFAs can affect the inflammatory environment of the airways in vivo. We conclude that SCFAs may be important in the airways and that further investigation is warranted to understand their effects on inflammation and infection.