2. Academic Validation
  3. Fermentation enhances the amelioration effect of bee pollen on Caco-2 monolayer epithelial barrier dysfunction based on NF-κB-mediated MLCK-MLC signaling pathway

Fermentation enhances the amelioration effect of bee pollen on Caco-2 monolayer epithelial barrier dysfunction based on NF-κB-mediated MLCK-MLC signaling pathway

  • Food Res Int. 2024 Feb:178:113938. doi: 10.1016/j.foodres.2024.113938.
Huifang Zhang 1,  Min Liu 1,  Fanfen Song 2,  Xiaoling Zhu 3,  Qun Lu 4,  Rui Liu 5
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 College of Food Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China; Wuhan Engineering Research Center of Bee Products on Quality and Safety Control, Wuhan 430070, China.
  • 2 Research Unit VEG-i-TEC, Faculty of BioscienceEngineering, Ghent University, Sint-Martens-Latemlaan2B, 8500 Kortrijk, Belgium.
  • 3 Key Laboratory of Detection Technology of Focus Chemical Hazards in Animal-derived Food for State Market Regulation, Wuhan 430075, China.
  • 4 College of Food Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China; Wuhan Engineering Research Center of Bee Products on Quality and Safety Control, Wuhan 430070, China; Key Laboratory of Environment Correlative Dietology (Huazhong Agricultural University), Ministry of Education, Wuhan 430070, China. Electronic address: [email protected].
  • 5 College of Food Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China; Wuhan Engineering Research Center of Bee Products on Quality and Safety Control, Wuhan 430070, China; Key Laboratory of Environment Correlative Dietology (Huazhong Agricultural University), Ministry of Education, Wuhan 430070, China; Key Laboratory of Urban Agriculture in Central China, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Wuhan 430070, China. Electronic address: [email protected].
PMID: 38309866 DOI: 10.1016/j.foodres.2024.113938
Abstract

Intestinal barrier integrity is essential for normal nutrient digestion and absorption and disease resistance. This study aims to investigate how fermentation affects the ameliorative effect of bee pollen on the intestinal barrier dysfunction stimulated by interferon-γ and tumor necrosis factor (IFN-γ/TNF-α) cytokines. The results indicated that fermentation enhances the alleviating effect of bee pollen on intestinal barrier dysfunction (including elevated trans epithelial electrical resistance and decreased paracellular permeability). In addition, fermented bee pollen (FBP) significantly decreased (p < 0.05) the secretion levels of interleukin (IL)-6, IL-8, and IL-1β and expression of cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 protein in intestinal barrier cells. Furthermore, fermentation improved the ability of bee pollen to up-regulate the expression of tight junction proteins including zonula occludens (ZO)-1, occluding, and claudin-1. Notably, FBP showed stronger ability to inhibit the expression of nuclear factor kappa-B (NF-κB) mediated Myosin light chain kinase (MLCK) and Myosin light chain (MLC) signaling pathway associated with phosphorylated proteins. Overall, our results indicated that fermentation enhances the protective effect of bee pollen on the intestinal barrier, and FBP has promising potential to be used as a novel functional food to protect the intestinal barrier.

Keywords

Bee pollen; Fermentation; IFN-γ/TNF-α; Intestinal barrier; MLCK-MLC; NF-κB; Tight junction.

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