Cited by 1,651Gut microbiota and healthReceptor Mechanisms and SignalingGastrointestinal motility and disorders

Functional Characterization of Human Receptors for Short Chain Fatty Acids and Their Role in Polymorphonuclear Cell Activation

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Le Poul, Emmanuel, Loison, Cécile, Struyf, Sofie, Springael, Jean-Yves, Lannoy, Vincent, Decobecq, Marie-Eve, Brezillon, Stéphane, Dupriez, Vincent +4 more·2003·Journal of Biological Chemistry

Abstract

Short chain fatty acids (SCFAs), including acetate, propionate, and butyrate, are produced at high concentration by bacteria in the gut and subsequently released in the bloodstream. Basal acetate concentrations in the blood (about 100 microm) can further increase to millimolar concentrations following alcohol intake. It was known previously that SCFAs can activate leukocytes, particularly neutrophils. In the present work, we have identified two previously orphan G protein-coupled receptors, GPR41 and GPR43, as receptors for SCFAs. Propionate was the most potent agonist for both GPR41 and GPR43. Acetate was more selective for GPR43, whereas butyrate and isobutyrate were more active on GPR41. The two receptors were coupled to inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate formation, intracellular Ca2+ release, ERK1/2 activation, and inhibition of cAMP accumulation. They exhibited, however, a differential coupling to G proteins; GPR41 coupled exclusively though the Pertussis toxin-sensitive Gi/o family, whereas GPR43 displayed a dual coupling through Gi/o and Pertussis toxin-insensitive Gq protein families. The broad expression profile of GPR41 in a number of tissues does not allow us to infer clear hypotheses regarding its biological functions. In contrast, the highly selective expression of GPR43 in leukocytes, particularly polymorphonuclear cells, suggests a role in the recruitment of these cell populations toward sites of bacterial infection. The pharmacology of GPR43 matches indeed the effects of SCFAs on neutrophils, in terms of intracellular Ca2+ release and chemotaxis. Such a neutrophil-specific SCFA receptor is potentially involved in the development of a variety of diseases characterized by either excessive or inefficient neutrophil recruitment and activation, such as inflammatory bowel diseases or alcoholism-associated immune depression. GPR43 might therefore constitute a target allowing us to modulate immune responses in these pathological situations.

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Crossref · 10.1074/jbc.m301403200

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  • Acetate, propionate, and butyrate can preferentially activate free fatty acid receptors (FFARs) to increase energy harvest and triglyceride storage in adipose tissue.

    “Molecular data showed that acetate, propionate, and butyrate can preferentially activate a series of free fatty acid receptors (FFARs) to increase energy harvest and triglyceride storage in adipose tissue [34,35,36].”
  • SCFAs can activate several G-protein coupled receptors, of which free fatty acid receptor 2 (FFAR2) and 3 (FFAR3) are the most investigated.

    “SCFAs can activate several G-protein coupled receptors (GPCR), of which free fatty acid receptor 2 (FFAR2, also referred to as GPR43) and 3 (FFAR3, also referred to as GPR41) are the most investigated (Brown et al., 2003;Le Poul et al., 2003;Nilsson et al., 2003).”

    From The Microbiota-Gut-Brain Axis (2019) · cites this paper as Le Poul et al., 2003

  • SCFAs modulate immune cells, including regulation of neutrophil chemotaxis and inflammation, suppression of cytokine production from myeloid cells, and regulation of T regulatory, T helper 1, and T helper 17 cell differentiation.

    “Further, SCFAs have been shown to modulate immune cells themselves (Correa-Oliveira et al., 2016;Kim et al., 2014).These include the regulation of neutrophils chemotaxis and inflammation (Le Poul et al., 2003;Vieira et al., 2017;Vinolo et al., 2011), the suppression of cytokine production from myeloid cells (Nastasi et al., 2015;Park et al., 2007) and by regulating T regulatory, T helper 1, and T”

    From The Microbiota-Gut-Brain Axis (2019) · cites this paper as Le Poul et al., 2003

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Authors
Le Poul, E., Loison, C., Struyf, S., Springael, J.-Y., Lannoy, V., Decobecq, M.-E., Brezillon, S., Dupriez, V., Vassart, G., Van Damme, J., Parmentier, M., & Detheux, M.
Affiliations
  • Euroscreen (Belgium) (BE)
  • Rega Institute for Medical Research (BE)
  • Université Libre de Bruxelles (BE)
Corresponding author
Parmentier, Marc
Venue
Journal of Biological Chemistry
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2003-07
Volume
278
Issue
28
Pages
25481-25489
ISSN
0021-9258 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2162704444
Cited by
1,651
References
0
Citations by year
2026: 75 · 2025: 90 · 2024: 122 · 2023: 117 · 2022: 137 · 2021: 129 · 2020: 110 · 2019: 96 · 2018: 100 · 2017: 82 · 2016: 90 · 2015: 87 · 2014: 71 · 2013: 62 · 2012: 59
FWCI
5.76
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Journal of Biological Chemistry (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Dépôt institutionnel de l'Université libre de Bruxelles (Université Libre de Bruxelles) (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Gut microbiota and health
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Receptor Mechanisms and Signaling
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Gastroenterology › Gastrointestinal motility and disorders
Keywords
short-chain fatty acids, GPR41, GPR43, G protein-coupled receptors, neutrophil activation, polymorphonuclear leukocytes, propionate, acetate, butyrate, isobutyrate, Gq coupling, inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate, intracellular calcium release, ERK1/2 activation, cAMP inhibition, chemotaxis, inflammatory bowel disease, gut microbiota
MeSH terms
Acetates, Cyclic AMP, Aequorin, Amino Acid Sequence, Animals, Calcium, Chemotaxis, Dose-Response Relationship, Drug, Fatty Acids, Volatile, Cricetinae, Humans, Leukocytes, Molecular Sequence Data, Neutrophils, Phylogeny, Receptors, Cell Surface, Recombinant Proteins, Time Factors, Tissue Distribution, Transfection, Inositol 1,4,5-Trisphosphate, Guanosine 5'-O-(3-Thiotriphosphate), CHO Cells, Sequence Homology, Amino Acid, GTP-Binding Proteins, Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 1, Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction, Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases, MAP Kinase Signaling System, Pertussis Toxin, Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled, Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 3

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