Abstract
Diet plays a substantial role in the pathogenesis and management of ulcerative colitis (UC), and epidemiologic studies indicate an association between red meat intake and increased risk of UC development. Therefore, we evaluated the effect of a red meat diet on dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis in pigs. Weaned pigs (42 days old) were fed either a control diet or a diet substituted with 15% minced, cooked and dried beef from experimental day 0 to 14. From day 14 to 18, half of the pigs on each diet received a daily oral dose of DSS. Dietary red meat aggravated the severity of colitis based on clinical signs of disease (negative performance score) and histopathological parameters in the colon such as erosion/ulceration and the overall inflammation score but no negative effects were observed on systemic health or small intestinal permeability. Importantly, dietary meat also caused a potential beneficial reduction in the colonic expression of the pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-17A and IL-6, the pro-inflammatory enzyme PTGS2 and in the chemokine IL-8. The present study emphasizes the potential of diet to modulate mucosal inflammation and that a red meat diet might be a risk factor for the development of inflammatory bowel disease.
Highlights
Ulcerative colitis (UC) is one of the two major chronic idiopathic inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD’s), with ulcerative colitis (UC) being confined to the colon [1]
One pig receiving the control diet and dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) (C-DSS) treatment was euthanized at day 15 due to illness
Diet composition plays a substantial role in the pathogenesis and management of colitis [37], and epidemiologic studies indicate that dietary red meat may be a negative factor in relation to UC [15]
Summary
Ulcerative colitis (UC) is one of the two major chronic idiopathic inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD’s), with UC being confined to the colon [1]. The disease development is triggered by environmental factors in genetically susceptible individuals with an abnormal immune response to the commensal gut microbiota [2]. A broad spectrum of environmental factors such as use of antibiotics, diet, breast-feeding and environmental pollution has been associated with the development of IBD [4,5]. An estimated 0.3% of the population in Europe are diagnosed with IBD [6] and the incidence rate is stabilizing in the Western world, the increasing global prevalence of IBD [7] will put a continuous pressure on the health care system in the affected countries [8].
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