Lin Jing, Nadroo Ali M, Chen Wei, Holzman Ian R, Fan Qiu-Xiang, Babyatsky Mark W
Jack and Lucy Clark Department of Pediatrics, Division of Newborn Medicine, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, Box 1508, One Gustave L. Levy Place, New York, NY 10029-6574, USA.
Early Hum Dev. 2003 Apr;71(2):103-9. doi: 10.1016/s0378-3782(02)00113-5.
Trefoil factor 3 (TFF3) or intestinal trefoil factor (ITF), a peptide normally expressed and secreted by goblet cells at the mucosal surface of the small intestine and colon, is important for the maintenance and repair of the intestinal mucosal barrier.
To study the ontogeny and developmental expression of TFF3 in human intestine.
We examined TFF3 expression in formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded intestinal tissues from 24 fetuses (gestational age [GA] 12-23 weeks) and 5 adults by immunohistochemical staining. To determine whether TFF3 is excreted into the fetal intestinal tract, first-passed meconium samples were collected from 43 newborn infants (gestational age 24-41 weeks). The presence of TFF3 was examined by Western blot analysis and the relative levels of TFF3 in the meconium were quantified with a slot blot assay.
TFF3 can be detected by immunohistochemistry in human intestine as early as 12 weeks gestation. TFF3 is present in the meconium of newborn infants; no significant difference exists in TFF3 levels in the meconium of premature infants with birth weight (BW) less than 1500 g compared to those with birth weight equal to or more than 1500 g.
Premature infant's susceptibility to intestinal mucosal injury is unlikely to be explained by developmental expression of TFF3 in human intestine since secreted TFF3 is not deficient in premature infants.
三叶因子3（TFF3）或肠三叶因子（ITF）是一种通常由小肠和结肠黏膜表面的杯状细胞表达和分泌的肽，对维持和修复肠道黏膜屏障很重要。
研究TFF3在人肠道中的个体发生及发育表达。
我们通过免疫组织化学染色检查了24例胎儿（胎龄[GA]12 - 23周）和5例成人的福尔马林固定石蜡包埋肠道组织中TFF3的表达。为了确定TFF3是否排泄到胎儿肠道中，收集了43例新生儿（胎龄24 - 41周）的首次排出胎粪样本。通过蛋白质免疫印迹分析检测TFF3的存在，并通过斑点印迹法对胎粪中TFF3的相对水平进行定量。
早在妊娠12周时，通过免疫组织化学就能在人肠道中检测到TFF3。TFF3存在于新生儿的胎粪中；出生体重（BW）小于1500 g的早产儿与出生体重等于或大于1500 g的早产儿相比，胎粪中TFF3水平无显著差异。
由于早产儿分泌的TFF3并不缺乏，因此早产儿对肠道黏膜损伤的易感性不太可能由人肠道中TFF3的发育表达来解释。
