Cytokine modulation (IL-6, IL-8, IL-10) by human breast milk lipids on intestinal epithelial cells (Caco-2).

Human breast milk is the best form of nourishment for infants during the first year of life. It is composed by a complex mixture of carbohydrates, proteins and fats. Breast milk provides nutrients and bioactive factors that themselves modulate maturation and development of the gastrointestinal tract. Many studies have shown that it provides protection against gastrointestinal tract inflammation. In this sense, this study aimed to evaluate the effect of human breast milk lipids on epithelial intestinal cells (Caco-2) cytokine regulation and the fatty acid transporter protein (FATP) involved in this process. Caco-2 cells were cultivated and stimulated with different concentration of human milk lipids from healthy human mothers (18-30-year-olds) or single commercial lipids for 48 h. We measured the concentrations and mRNA levels of IL-6, IL-8 and IL-10 cytokines by immunoassay (ELISA) and quantitative-PCR (qRT-PCR) technique, respectively. We observed a two to three times decrease in pro-inflammatory cytokine levels (p < 0.01) as well as an increase in anti-inflammatory IL-10 levels in cells stimulated with increasing concentrations of breast milk lipids. These results suggest that human breast milk lipids could have an important role on the cytokine modulation in the newborn bowel.

Differential expression of P-type ATPases in intestinal epithelial cells: identification of putative new atp1a1 splice-variant.

P-type ATPases are membrane proteins that couple ATP hydrolysis with cation transport across the membrane. Ten different subtypes have been described. In mammalia, 15 genes of P-type ATPases from subtypes II-A, II-B and II-C, that transport low-atomic-weight cations (Ca(2+), Na(+), K(+) and H(+)), have been reported. They include reticulum and plasma-membrane Ca(2+)-ATPases, Na(+)/K(+)-ATPase and H(+)/K(+)-ATPases. Enterocytes and colonocytes show functional differences, which seem to be partially due to the differential expression of P-type ATPases. These enzymes have 9 structural motifs, being the phosphorylation (E) and the Mg(2+)ATP-binding (H) motifs the most preserved. These structural characteristics permitted developing a Multiplex-Nested-PCR (MN-PCR) for the simultaneous identification of different P-type ATPases. Thus, using MN-PCR, seven different cDNAs were cloned from enterocytes and colonocytes, including SERCA3, SERCA2, Na(+)/K(+)-ATPase alpha1-isoform, H(+)/K(+)-ATPase alpha2-isoform, PMCA1, PMCA4 and a cDNA-fragment that seems to be a new cassette-type splice-variant of the atp1a1 gen. PMCA4 in enterocytes and H(+)/K(+)-ATPase alpha2-isoform in colonocytes were differentially expressed. This cell-specific expression pattern is related with the distinctive enterocyte and colonocyte functions.