Gene expression studies in IEC-6 cells induced by non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agents

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are used extensively as therapeutic agents, despite their well-documented gastrointestinal (GI) toxicity. Presently, the mechanisms responsible for NSAID-associated GI damage are incompletely understood. In this study, we used Microarray analysis to generate a novel hypothesis about cellular mechanisms that underlie the GI toxicity of NSAIDs. Monolayers of intestinal epithelial cells (IEC-6) were treated with NSAIDs that either exhibit indomethacin, NS-398) or lack (SC-560) inhibitory effects on intestinal epithelial cell migration. Bioinformatic analysis of array data suggested that NSAIDs with adverse GI effects either decrease the gene expression of the calpains or increase the gene expression of the calpain engodenous inhibitor, calpastatin. Calpains have been shown previously to modulate the migration of a variety of cells in different physiological contexts. Our experimental results suggest that the altered expression of calpain genes may contribute to the adverse effects of NSAIDs on intestinal epithelial restitution. Microarray analysis has generated the novel hypothesis that the GI toxicity of NSAIDs may be attributed in part to drug-induced changes in the expression and activity of calpains. Keywords: dose response Monolayers of intestinal epithelial cells (IEC-6) were treated with NSAIDs that either exhibit (indomethacin, NS-398) or lack (SC-560) inhibitory effects on intestinal epithelial cell migration. Samples were then pooled to obtain sufficient material for gene array analysis. The pooled samples were used to hybridize 4 gene array chips for each biological sample.