Abstract

BackgroundA key concept of the hygiene hypothesis is that the microbiome modulates both epithelial barrier integrity as well as host immune responses. Defective expression of tight junction complex proteins alters this homeostatic process, and plays a role in atopic disorders including eosinophilic esophagitis. We tested the hypothesis that Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) stimulation improves esophageal barrier function in a cell-intrinsic manner by upregulation of TJ-protein expression using an in vitro model of human epithelium. MethodsPattern recognition receptor expression was assessed in esophageal epithelial cells from patients with EoE and non-EoE control patients. Functional consequences of TLR2 stimulation were investigated using human esophageal EPC2-hTERT cells in the three-dimensional air-liquid interface culture (ALI) model to evaluate transepithelial electrical resistance (TEER) and FITC-Dextran permeability. Characterization of TLR2-stimulated ALI cultures was performed by histology, immunohistochemistry, western blotting and chromatin immunoprecipitation. ResultsTLR2 stimulation increased TEER (1.28 to 1.31-fold) and decreased paracellular permeability to FITC-Dextran. Notably, TLR2 stimulation-induced increases in TEER were abolished by treatment with anti-TLR2 blocking antibody. Tight junction complex proteins claudin 1 and zonula occludens 1 were increased following TLR2 stimulation, and chromatin immunoprecipitation analysis demonstrated significant increase in histone 4 acetyl binding at the CLDN1 enhancer and promoter following zymosan treatment, implying the occurrence of durable chromatin changes in the esophageal epithelium. ConclusionsOur findings reveal that the TLR2 pathway may play a regulatory role as a mechanism that maintains epithelial barrier homeostasis in the esophagus.