Affiliations: Department of Applied Biological Chemistry, Graduate
School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, 1-1-1 Yayoi,
Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8657, Japan. Tel.: +81 3 5841 5127; Fax: +81 3 5841 8026;
E-mail: [email protected]
Note: [] Corresponding author
Abstract: Immune cells located in the intestinal epithelium interact with
intestinal epithelial cells via soluble factors. In this study, a new in vitro
model using a coculture system was constructed to analyze the interaction
between intestinal epithelial cells and macrophage-like cells. Human intestinal
epithelial Caco-2 cells were differentiated on semipermeable membranes. Human
monocytic THP-1 cells were differentiated to macrophage-like cells and then
cocultured on the basolateral side of the Caco-2 cell monolayers. By
coculturing for 48 hours, an increased release of lactate dehydrogenase from
the Caco-2 cells and a decrease in the transepithelial electrical resistance of
the monolayers were observed, suggesting that the coculture with THP-1 induced
some disruption of the Caco-2 cells. This disruption was significantly
suppressed by adding the anti-TNF-α antibody to the medium, suggesting
that TNF-α secreted from THP-1 caused damage to the Caco-2 cells. It is
also suggested that this phenomenon is similar to that observed with
inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The effects of food factors on the cells in
this coculture system were examined. The disruption of the Caco-2 cell
monolayers was significantly reduced by adding caffeine to the medium on the
apical side. It is hoped that this coculture system will be a good model for
the treatment of IBD.
