Change in Expression of the Intestinal Polymeric Immunoglobulin Receptor in Acute Liver Necrosis

AIM: Polymeric immunoglobulin receptor (pIgR) transportspIgA unidirectionally to form sIgA, and its effective production isimportant for the immune stability of the intestinal mucosa. Thisstudy aimed at evaluating the expression of pIgR in a mouse modelof acute liver necrosis and the relationship with sIgA.METHODS: We induced acute liver necrosis using D-galactosamine/lipopolysaccharide (GalN/LPS), and assessed the results usingimmunohistochemistry, Western blotting, real-time quantitative PCR,and radioimmunoassay.RESULTS: Expression of pIgR mRNA was significantly decreasedin acute liver necrosis models (P<0.05), as was the level of pIgRprotein (P<0.05), compared to the control group. The intestinalmucus sIgA content was also significantly reduced (P<0.05), andwas positively correlated with the expression of pIgR protein in acuteliver necrosis models (r=0.965, P<0.001).CONCLUSIONS: Our findings first demonstrated pIgR expressiondecreased in the small intestine mucosa in mice with acute livernecrosis, which correlated with the intestinal mucus sIgA content.pIgR decrease in the mucosa of the small intestine may play animportant role in reduced sIgA content and the development ofintestinal mucosal immune disorder in acute liver necrosis.