Effects of Shrimp Peptide Hydrolysate on Intestinal Microbiota Restoration and Immune Modulation in Cyclophosphamide-Treated Mice

Asif Iqbal Khan,Yi Xin,Liang Wang,Muhammad Noman Ramzan,Qamar Ayub,Nimra Zafar Siddiqui,Nabeel Ahmed Farooqui,Ata Ur Rehman

doi:10.3390/molecules27051720

Abstract

The gut microbiota is important in regulating host metabolism, maintaining physiology, and protecting immune homeostasis. Gut microbiota dysbiosis affects the development of the gut microenvironment, as well as the onset of various external systemic diseases and metabolic syndromes. Cyclophosphamide (CTX) is a commonly used chemotherapeutic drug that suppresses the host immune system, intestinal mucosa inflammation, and dysbiosis of the intestinal flora. Immunomodulators are necessary to enhance the immune system and prevent homeostasis disbalance and cytotoxicity caused by CTX. In this study, shrimp peptide hydrolysate (SPH) was evaluated for immunomodulation, intestinal integration, and microbiota in CTX-induced immunosuppressed mice. It was observed that SPH would significantly restore goblet cells and intestinal mucosa integrity, modulate the immune system, and increase relative expression of mRNA and tight-junction associated proteins (Occludin, Zo-1, Claudin-1, and Mucin-2). It also improved gut flora and restored the intestinal microbiota ecological balance by removing harmful microbes of various taxonomic groups. This would also increase the immune organs index, serum levels of cytokines (IFN-ϒ, IL1β, TNF-α, IL-6), and immunoglobin levels (IgA, IgM). The Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes proportion was decreased in CTX-induced mice. Finally, SPH would be recommended as a functional food source with a modulatory effect not only on intestinal microbiota, but also as a potential health-promoting immune function regulator.

Highlights

The gut microbiome is a diversified community of trillions of bacteria that live in the mammalian body and perform a variety of physiological functions in the host’s gastrointestinal tract [1,2]
Molecules 2022, 27, 1720 the current study investigates the effect of shrimp peptide hydrolysate (SPH) on immunomodulation, intestinal integration, intestinal microbiota in cyclophosphamide induces immunosuppressed mice. 3 of 19
The concentration of SPH was by the method

Summary

Introduction

The gut microbiome is a diversified community of trillions of bacteria (microorganisms) that live in the mammalian body and perform a variety of physiological functions in the host’s gastrointestinal tract [1,2]. The host and the microbiota have common associations in a micro-ecosystem in the digestive tract. The microbiota is pivotal in regulating host metabolism, i.e., digesting the carbohydrate to supply the nutrients for maintenance of metabolic system, vitamin synthesis, maintain physiology, protect colonization of the pathogen by shielding the harmful microbe’s invasion [3–5]. The intestinal barrier system consists of four layers that work together to keep the gastrointestinal tract in a state of homeostasis: immunological, mechanical, biological, and chemical barriers [6,7]. Mucin-2 (Muc-2) is a component of chemical barriers, formed as an exudate of goblet cells and adheres to the surface of epithelial cells to prevent pathogens from attacking the mechanical barriers of the intestine [8,9]. The microbiota stimulates cellular proliferation, mucus production, villus thickening, vascularization, epithelial junction maintenance, and mucosal surface widening [10,11]

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion