Digested casein phosphopeptides impact intestinal calcium transport in vitro.

Calcium is the most abundant mineral in the human body and is involved in critical physiological and cellular processes. It is essential for the development, maintenance, and integrity of bone tissue throughout life. Identifying new natural food-grade chelating agents to improve calcium uptake is of increasing interest. Casein phosphopeptides (CPPs), highly phosphorylated peptides obtained after enzymatic hydrolysis of caseins, represent promising calcium-chelating candidates. The aim of this study was to investigate, using cell culture models, the ability of a digested milk matrix enriched in CPPs to regulate calcium transport through the intestinal barrier and elucidate the involved mechanisms. To this end, a CPP-preparation underwent in vitro static digestion and was subsequently incubated with an intestinal barrier model to monitor calcium uptake and transport. Our results demonstrated that the digested CPP preparation enhanced the trans-epithelial calcium transport via paracellular pathways and that CPPs, identified by peptidomics, crossed the intestinal barrier in the same time.

In vitro comparison of whey protein isolate and hydrolysate for their effect on glucose homeostasis markers.

Research on new strategies to regulate glucose homeostasis to prevent or manage type 2 diabetes is a critical challenge. Several studies have shown that protein-rich diets could improve glucose homeostasis. Whey protein hydrolysis allows the release of amino acids and bioactive peptides, which exert numerous well-documented bioactivities. This study evaluates and compares the hypoglycemic potential of a whey protein hydrolysate and a whey protein isolate after static in vitro simulated gastrointestinal digestion (SGID) using the INFOGEST protocol. The peptide molecular mass distributions of the digested samples were evaluated by size exclusion chromatography and show that after digestion, the whey hydrolysate is significantly more hydrolyzed. After SGID, the whey protein hydrolysate induces a significative greater secretion of GLP-1 after two hours of contact with the enteroendocrine STC-1 cell line than the whey protein after isolation. In addition, the digested whey hydrolysate increases preproglucagon (GCG) and pro-convertase-1 (PCSK1) expression. The digested hydrolysate also inhibits the DPP-IV activity after an intestinal barrier passage challenge using a Caco-2/HT29-MTX mixed-cell model. Our results highlight that the prehydrolysis of whey proteins modify the intestinal peptidome, leading to a potentially greater hypoglycemic effect. This study confirms the previously observed in vitro hypoglycemic effect of this hydrolysate and evidences the beneficial impact of the industrial hydrolysis process.

Identification, production and bioactivity of casein phosphopeptides - A review.

Milk and dairy products are significant sources of proteins and peptides impacting human health. In this way, the interest in CPPs, bioactive phosphorylated peptides resulting from the hydrolysis of caseins, has grown in the past years. CPPs were mainly studied for their capacity to chelate and increase the bioavailability of essential minerals involved in multiple physiological processes. Moreover, CPPs harbour interesting antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Recent in vivo and in vitro studies demonstrated that these different roles are strongly linked to the intrinsic properties of CPPs and CPP concentrate preparations. This review first comments on the different methods of CPP analytical characterization, focusing on recent techniques. Then, the CPP release occurring during the gastrointestinal digestion was reviewed, followed by the different CPP obtention processes and their impact on their physicochemical characteristics. Finally, the different bioactive roles attributed to CPPs, including mineral chelating properties, are discussed. We show that CPPs have a promising role in treating various pathologies, notably to compensate for deficiencies in certain nutrients and an anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory role. Nevertheless, the mechanisms by which CPPs exert their role remain to be elucidated, and this requires precise characterization of CPPs. This work highlights the key parameters to be considered to study and produce CPPs and the different ways to be investigated in the future to elucidate their roles in vivo and characterize their potential for human health.

The Map3k12 (Dlk)/JNK3 signaling pathway is required for pancreatic beta-cell proliferation during postnatal development.

Unveiling the key pathways underlying postnatal beta-cell proliferation can be instrumental to decipher the mechanisms of beta-cell mass plasticity to increased physiological demand of insulin during weight gain and pregnancy. Using transcriptome and global Serine Threonine Kinase activity (STK) analyses of islets from newborn (10 days old) and adult rats, we found that highly proliferative neonatal rat islet cells display a substantially elevated activity of the mitogen activated protein 3 kinase 12, also called dual leucine zipper-bearing kinase (Dlk). As a key upstream component of the c-Jun amino terminal kinase (Jnk) pathway, Dlk overexpression was associated with increased Jnk3 activity and was mainly localized in the beta-cell cytoplasm. We provide the evidence that Dlk associates with and activates Jnk3, and that this cascade stimulates the expression of Ccnd1 and Ccnd2, two essential cyclins controlling postnatal beta-cell replication. Silencing of Dlk or of Jnk3 in neonatal islet cells dramatically hampered primary beta-cell replication and the expression of the two cyclins. Moreover, the expression of Dlk, Jnk3, Ccnd1 and Ccnd2 was induced in high replicative islet beta cells from ob/ob mice during weight gain, and from pregnant female rats. In human islets from non-diabetic obese individuals, DLK expression was also cytoplasmic and the rise of the mRNA level was associated with an increase of JNK3, CCND1 and CCND2 mRNA levels, when compared to islets from lean and obese patients with diabetes. In conclusion, we find that activation of Jnk3 signalling by Dlk could be a key mechanism for adapting islet beta-cell mass during postnatal development and weight gain.

An Exploratory Study of the Role of Dietary Proteins in the Regulation of Intestinal Glucose Absorption.

Several studies have demonstrated that high protein diets improve glucose homeostasis. Nevertheless, the mechanisms underlying this effect remain elusive. This exploratory study aims to screen and compare the acute effects of dietary proteins from different sources on intestinal glucose absorption. Six dietary proteins from various sources were thus selected and digested thanks to the INFOGEST static gastrointestinal digestion protocol. The digested proteins were able to decrease intestinal glucose absorption in vitro and ex vivo. Moreover, acute ingestion of casein and fish gelatin led to improved glucose tolerance in Wistar rats without significant effect on insulin secretion. In parallel, GLUT2 mRNA expression in enterocytes was decreased following short-term incubation with some of the digested proteins. These results strengthen the evidence that digested protein-derived peptides and amino acids are key regulators of glucose homeostasis and highlight their role in intestinal glucose absorption.

Increased Hepatic PDGF-AA Signaling Mediates Liver Insulin Resistance in Obesity-Associated Type 2 Diabetes.

In type 2 diabetes (T2D), hepatic insulin resistance is strongly associated with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). In this study, we hypothesized that the DNA methylome of livers from patients with T2D compared with livers of individuals with normal plasma glucose levels can unveil some mechanism of hepatic insulin resistance that could link to NAFLD. Using DNA methylome and transcriptome analyses of livers from obese individuals, we found that hypomethylation at a CpG site in PDGFA (encoding platelet-derived growth factor α) and PDGFA overexpression are both associated with increased T2D risk, hyperinsulinemia, increased insulin resistance, and increased steatohepatitis risk. Genetic risk score studies and human cell modeling pointed to a causative effect of high insulin levels on PDGFA CpG site hypomethylation, PDGFA overexpression, and increased PDGF-AA secretion from the liver. We found that PDGF-AA secretion further stimulates its own expression through protein kinase C activity and contributes to insulin resistance through decreased expression of insulin receptor substrate 1 and of insulin receptor. Importantly, hepatocyte insulin sensitivity can be restored by PDGF-AA-blocking antibodies, PDGF receptor inhibitors, and by metformin, opening therapeutic avenues. Therefore, in the liver of obese patients with T2D, the increased PDGF-AA signaling contributes to insulin resistance, opening new therapeutic avenues against T2D and possibly NAFLD.

Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress Links Oxidative Stress to Impaired Pancreatic Beta-Cell Function Caused by Human Oxidized LDL.

Elevated plasma concentration of the pro-atherogenic oxidized low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL) triggers adverse effects in pancreatic beta-cells and is associated with type 2 diabetes. Here, we investigated whether the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress is a key player coupling oxidative stress to beta-cell dysfunction and death elicited by human oxidized LDL. We found that human oxidized LDL activates ER stress as evidenced by the activation of the inositol requiring 1α, and the elevated expression of both DDIT3 (also called CHOP) and DNAJC3 (also called P58IPK) ER stress markers in isolated human islets and the mouse insulin secreting MIN6 cells. Silencing of Chop and inhibition of ER stress markers by the chemical chaperone phenyl butyric acid (PBA) prevented cell death caused by oxidized LDL. Finally, we found that oxidative stress accounts for activation of ER stress markers induced by oxidized LDL. Induction of Chop/CHOP and p58IPK/P58IPK by oxidized LDL was mimicked by hydrogen peroxide and was blocked by co-treatment with the N-acetylcystein antioxidant. As a conclusion, the harmful effects of oxidized LDL in beta-cells requires ER stress activation in a manner that involves oxidative stress. This mechanism may account for impaired beta-cell function in diabetes and can be reversed by antioxidant treatment.