Oral 25-Hydroxycholecalciferol Acts as an Agonist in the Duodenum of Mice and as Modeled in Cultured Human HT-29 and Caco2 Cells

• Published in: The Journal of nutrition 2020-03, Vol.150 (3), p.427-433
• Main Authors: Reynolds, Carmen J, Koszewski, Nicholas J, Horst, Ronald L, Beitz, Donald C, Goff, Jesse P
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 25-hydroxyvitamin D; 25-Hydroxyvitamin D3 1-alpha-Hydroxylase - genetics; Administration, Oral; Agonists; Animals; Biochemical, Molecular, and Genetic Mechanisms; Caco-2 Cells; Calcifediol - administration & dosage; Calcifediol - pharmacology; Calciferol; CYP27B1; Cytochrome; Cytochrome P450; Cytochrome P450 Family 24 - genetics; Cytochromes P450; Dosage; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Duodenum; Duodenum - drug effects; Evaluation; Gene expression; Gene Knockdown Techniques; HT29 Cells; Humans; Hybridization; Hydroxylase; Intestine; Male; Metabolites; Mice; Mice, Inbred C57BL; mRNA; Rodents; VDR; Vitamin A; Vitamin D; Vitamin D-24-hydroxylase; Vitamins
• ISSN: 0022-3166; 1541-6100
• DOI: 10.1093/jn/nxz261

25-Hydroxycholecalciferol [25(OH)D] is the predominant circulating metabolite of vitamin D and serves as the precursor for 1α,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol [1,25(OH)2D], the hormonally active form. The presence of 1α-hydroxylase (1α-OHase) in the intestine suggests that 1,25(OH)2D can be produced from 25(OH)D, but the effects of oral 25(OH)D on the intestine have not been determined. We investigated the acute intestinal response to orally consumed 25(OH)D in mice by assessing mRNA induction of cytochrome p450 family 24 subfamily A member 1 (Cyp24), a vitamin D–dependent gene. The mechanism of action then was determined through in vitro analyses with Caco2 and HT-29 cells. Adult male C57BL6 mice were given a single oral dose of 40, 80, 200, or 400 ng 25(OH)D (n = 4 per dose) or vehicle (n = 3), and then killed 4 h later to evaluate the duodenal expression of Cyp24 mRNA by qPCR and RNA in situ hybridization. The 25(OH)D-mediated response was also evaluated with Caco2 and HT-29 cells by inhibition assay and dose-response analysis. A cytochrome p450 family 27 subfamily B member 1 (CYP27B1) knockdown of HT-29 was created to compare the dose-response parameters with wild-type HT-29 cells. Oral 25(OH)D induced expression of Cyp24 mRNA in the duodenum of mice with 80 ng 25(OH)D by 3.3 ± 0.8 ∆∆Ct compared with controls (P < 0.05). In vitro, both Caco2 and HT-29 cells responded to 25(OH)D treatment with 200-fold and 175-fold greater effective concentration at 50% maximal response than 1,25(OH)2D, yet inhibition of 1α-OHase and knockdown of CYP27B1 had no effect on the responses. In mice, orally consumed 25(OH)D elicits a vitamin D–mediated response in the duodenum. In vitro assessments suggest that the response from 25(OH)D does not require activation by 1α-OHase and that 25(OH)D within the intestinal lumen acts as a vitamin D receptor agonist.