Air-Liquid-Interface Reorganizes Membrane Lipid and Enhance Recruitment of Slc26a3 to Lipid-Rich Domains in Human Colon

Background and Aims Cholesterol-rich membrane domains, also called lipid rafts (LR), are specialized membrane domains that provide a platform for intracellular signal transduction. Membrane proteins often cluster in LR that further aggregate into larger platform-like structures that are enriched in ceramide and are called ceramide-rich platforms (CRPs). The role of CRPs in the regulation of intestinal epithelial functions remains unknown. Down Regulated in Adenoma (DRA) is an intestinal Cl-/HCO3- antiporter which is enriched in LR. However, little is known regarding the mechanisms involved in the regulation of DRA activity. Methods Air liquid interface (ALI) was created by removing apical media for a specified number of days from 12-14 days post confluency Caco-2/BBe cells or confluent colonoid monolayer grown as submerged cultures. Confocal imaging was used to examine the dimensions of membrane microdomains that contain DRA. Results DRA expression and activity were enhanced by culturing Caco-2/BBe cells and human colonoids using an ALI culture method. ALI causes an increase in acid sphingomyelinase (ASMase) activity, an enzyme responsible for enhancing ceramide content in the plasma membrane. ALI cultures expressed a larger number of DRA-containing platforms with dimensions >2 μm compared to cells grown as submerged cultures. ASMase inhibitor, desipramine disrupted CRPs and reduced the ALI-induced increase in DRA expression in the apical membrane. Exposing normal human colonoid monolayers to ALI increased the ASMase activity and enhanced differentiation of colonoids along with enhancing basal and forskolin-stimulated DRA activity. Conclusions ALI increases DRA activity and expression by increasing ASMase activity and platform formation in Caco-2/BBe cells and by enhancing the differentiation of normal human colonoids. Synopsis Air-liquid interface (ALI) enhances total and brush border DRA expression and activity in Caco-2/BBe cells and human colonoids by causing differentiation of enterocytes and acid sphingomyelinase-dependent enhanced retention of DRA in ceramide-rich platform-like structures at the plasma membrane.