Dietary bovine lactoferrin does not alter intestinal lymphocyte apoptosis but decreases TNF‐α production during exercise induced intestinal inflammation

Abstract

Strenuous exercise can induce physiological alterations (e.g., ischemia‐reperfusion injury, generation of free radicals, increased stress hormones, apoptosis) which increase the likelihood of intestinal inflammation. Bovine lactoferrin (bLf), a common dietary protein which affects cytokine expression and lymphocyte apoptosis, is a potential therapeutic tool against the development of intestinal inflammation. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of bLf on intestinal lymphocyte (IL) apoptosis and cytokine production following strenuous exercise. C57BL/6 female mice (n=89) were given three repeated bouts of exhaustive exercise, plasma collected and IL isolated. Exercise resulted in IL loss (p<0.05) attributed to increased expression of pro‐apoptotic caspase‐3 (p<0.001) and decreased expression of antiapoptotic Bcl‐2 (p<0.05) in IL. Elevations in corticosterone (p<0.05) and 8‐isoprostane F2α (p<0.05) in plasma and HSP 70 (p<0.01) in IL were also observed following exercise. Dietary bLf did not alter these exercise induced effects but did decrease TNF‐α expression (p<0.05), possibly through reduced levels of NFκB (p<0.05) in IL; there was no change in IL‐10. Thus, dietary bLf does not appear to alter exercise induced IL cell loss and apoptosis but may confer some intestinal protection by decreasing the TNF‐α (inflammatory) cytokine response. Research supported by NSERC of Canada.