The sodium-dependent multivitamin transporter (SMVT; SLC5A6) is involved in intestinal absorption of vitamin B7 (biotin). We have previously shown that mice with an embryonic intestinal-specific SMVT knockout (KO) develop biotin deficiency and severe spontaneous intestinal inflammation in addition to growth retardation, developmental delays, and death within the first 6-7 wk of life. The profound morbidity and mortality associated with the SMVT-KO has limited our ability to further characterize the intestinal inflammation and other sequelae of this deletion in adult mice with a mature gut microbiota. To overcome this limitation, we generated an intestine-specific, tamoxifen-inducible, conditional SMVT-KO (SMVT-icKO). Our results showed that adult SMVT-icKO mice have reduced body weight, biotin deficiency, shorter colonic length, and bloody diarrhea compared with age- and sex-matched control littermates. All SMVT-icKO mice also developed spontaneous intestinal inflammation associated with induction of calprotectin (S100a8/S100a9), proinflammatory cytokines (IL-1β, TNF-α, IFN-γ, and IL-6), and an increase in intestinal permeability. Additionally, the intestines of SMVT-icKO showed activation of the NF-κB pathway and the nucleotide-binding domain and leucine-rich repeat pyrin 3 domain (NLRP3) inflammasome. Notably, administration of broad-spectrum antibiotics reduced lethality and led to normalization of intestinal inflammation, proinflammatory cytokines, altered mucosal integrity, and reduced expression of the NLRP3 inflammasome. Overall, these findings support our conclusion that the biotin transport pathway plays an important role in the maintenance of intestinal homeostasis, and that NF-κB and the NLRP3 inflammasome, as well as gut microbiota, drive the development of intestinal inflammation when SMVT is absent.NEW & NOTEWORTHY This study demonstrates that deletion of the intestinal biotin uptake system in adult mice leads to the development of spontaneous gut inflammation and that luminal microbiota plays a role in its development.
Keywords: NF-κB activation; SMVT; Slc5a6; biotin; inflammasome; intestinal inflammation; microbiota; tamoxifen-inducible knockout.