The glucagon-like peptide 2 receptor is expressed in enteric neurons and not in the epithelium of the intestine

Glucagon-like peptide 2 (GLP-2) is a potent intestinotrophic growth factor with therapeutic potential in the treatment of intestinal deficiencies. It has recently been approved for the treatment of short bowel syndrome. The effects of GLP-2 are mediated by specific binding of the hormone to the GLP-2 receptor (GLP-2R) which was cloned in 1999. However, consensus about the exact receptor localization in the intestine has never been established. By physical, chemical and enzymatic tissue fragmentation, we were able to divide rat jejunum into different compartments consisting of: (1) epithelium alone, (2) mucosa with lamina propria and epithelium, (3) the external muscle coat including myenteric plexus, (4) a compartment enriched for the myenteric plexus and (5) intestine without epithelium. Expression of Glp2r; chromogranin A; tubulin, beta 3; actin, gamma 2, smooth muscle, enteric and glial fibrillary acidic protein in these isolated tissue fractions was quantified with qRT-PCR. Expression of the Glp2r was confined to compartments containing enteric neurons and receptor expression was absent in the epithelium. Our findings provide evidence for the expression of the GLP-2R in intestinal compartments rich in enteric neurons and, importantly they exclude significant expression in the epithelium of rat jejunal mucosa.