Influence of Feces from Patients with Ulcerative Colitis on Butyrate Oxidation in Rat Colonocytes.

An impaired oxidation of butyrate has beensuggested as a causative factor of ulcerative colitisand, moreover, agents present in colonic luminalcontents impair butyrate oxidation in both rat and human colonocytes. To evaluate the overall effect offeces on the production of CO₂ and ketonebodies from butyrate oxidation in rat colonocytes, fecalhomogenates from 10 healthy subjects and 10 patients with quiescent and 10 patients with activeulcerative colitis were sterile filtrated and added torat colonocytes incubated with 2, 4, and 10 mmol/literof stock butyrate, respectively. Addition of fecal filtrate from healthy subjects and patientswith quiescent and active ulcerative colitis tocolonocytes incubated with 2, 4, and 10 mmol/liter ofstock butyrate, respectively, tended to decrease theproduction of CO₂ from butyrate oxidation,whereas ketogenesis was unaffected. The decrease inCO₂ production was not explained by thesimultaneous addition of fecal short-chain fatty acids(SCFAs). However, a difference in the ability todecrease CO₂ production was not found betweenfiltrates from healthy subjects and patients withquiescent and active ulcerative colitis. In conclusion, feces from healthy subjects and patients withquiescent and active ulcerative colitis containinhibitor(s) of the production of CO₂ frombutyrate oxidation in colonocytes. However, a specific inhibitory effect of feces from patients withulcerative colitis on the production of CO₂could not be identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]