Zhang Yong-Guo, Xia Yinglin, Sun Jun
Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Medicine, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60612, USA.
UIC Cancer Center, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60612, USA.
Genes Dis. 2020 Mar 17;8(6):939-945. doi: 10.1016/j.gendis.2020.03.002. eCollection 2021 Nov.
Vitamin D receptor (VDR) executes the main biological functions of its ligand vitamin D. VDR/vitamin D plays critical roles in regulating host immunity, maintaining barrier functions, and shaping gut microbiome. Reduction of intestinal VDR has been reported in various diseases, including inflammatory diseases and colon cancer. However, it is always challenging to get biopsies to test the pathologic changes of VDR in intestine. In the current study, we reported a simple and sensitive quantitative PCR (qPCR) method to detect reduction of intestinal VDR using fecal samples. We validated this method in several experimental models, such as colitis, bacterial infection, and aging. We further correlated the qPCR data of VDR with the protein level of VDR in colon or serum 25 (OH)D in mice with different VDR status (VDR, VDR, and VDR). Our data indicate that the qPCR method to test VDR using fecal samples could detect the expression level of intestinal VDR in various diseases. Our study highlights the feasibility, sensitivity, and simplicity of a molecular method to study the status of VDR as a biomarker.
维生素D受体（VDR）执行其配体维生素D的主要生物学功能。VDR/维生素D在调节宿主免疫、维持屏障功能和塑造肠道微生物群方面发挥着关键作用。在包括炎症性疾病和结肠癌在内的各种疾病中，均有肠道VDR减少的报道。然而，获取活检样本以检测肠道中VDR的病理变化一直具有挑战性。在本研究中，我们报告了一种简单且灵敏的定量PCR（qPCR）方法，用于使用粪便样本检测肠道VDR的减少情况。我们在多种实验模型中验证了该方法，如结肠炎、细菌感染和衰老模型。我们进一步将不同VDR状态（VDR+/+、VDR+/-和VDR-/-）小鼠的VDR的qPCR数据与结肠中VDR的蛋白水平或血清25（OH）D进行了关联分析。我们的数据表明，使用粪便样本检测VDR的qPCR方法能够检测各种疾病中肠道VDR的表达水平。我们的研究突出了一种作为生物标志物研究VDR状态的分子方法的可行性、灵敏性和简易性。
