Iso-α-acids in Nonalcoholic and Alcoholic Beer Stimulate Growth of Neuron-like SH-SY5Y Cells and Neuroepithelial Stem Cells.

Agneta J Laurent,Vladana Vukojević,Lars Terenius,Niels Bindslev

doi:10.1021/acsbiomedchemau.1c00017

Agneta J Laurent, Vladana Vukojević + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1021/acsbiomedchemau.1c00017

Copy DOI

Abstract

With the increasing popularity of nonalcoholic beer, the association between beer drinking and alcohol intake is lost. In the present study, we show that nonalcoholic beer can stimulate the expansion of neuron-like cell lines and neuroepithelial stem cells in culture, yielding an effect comparable to that of alcoholic beer. One ingredient in beer is hops, which is derived from the flower of hop plants. The female flower contains humulones, which are transformed into iso-α-acids during wort boiling and give beer its bitter taste. In this study, we tested the effects of these iso-α-acids and/or alcohol on the proliferation of neuron-like cells and neuroepithelial stem cells in culture. Iso-α-acids enhanced cell expansion, showing a bimodal dose-response curve with peaks around 2-30 nM and 2-5 μM, of which nanomolar concentrations are relevant in beer drinking. The more lipophilic trans-iso-α-acids, found to a greater extent in beer foam, are even more potent. Our results indicate that iso-α-acids, acting via peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors could be responsible for the observed effects. Altogether, our results indicate that nonalcoholic beer with ingredients such as iso-α-acids stimulate the proliferation of neuroepithelial stem cells.

Highlights

Beer has been part of the human diet for over 7000 years and is the most consumed alcoholic beverage in the world
SH-SY5Y cells were stained with 2 μM carboxyfluorescein succinimidyl ester (CFSE)
Iso-α-acids act via the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors,[10] and since trans-iso-α-acids most potently activate SH-SY5Y cells, we investigated if PPARα and PPARγ mediate the effects at the low concentration measured

Summary

■ INTRODUCTION

Beer has been part of the human diet for over 7000 years and is the most consumed alcoholic beverage in the world. As a plant from the Cannabaceae family, hops contain many bioactive compounds.[3] Hops have been used in brewing since the Middle Ages and in traditional medicine since ancient times.[4,5] Among the bioactive compounds are α-acids, which are found in the glands of the flowers During wort boiling, these α-acids are isomerized to iso-α-acids, the bitter component in beer[4] (Figure 1). In beer-treatment experiments, 3.5 × 104 SH-SY5Y cells/well were plated and treated with Carlsberg Alcohol Free (0.5% ABV) or Carlsberg Export (5.0% ABV) for 4 days. In beer-treatment experiments, NES cells were seeded at a density of 5 × 104 cells/well and treated with Carlsberg Alcohol Free (0.5% ABV) or Carlsberg Export (5.0% ABV) for 3 days. Further analyses were performed using the software Flowjo version 10 (Flowjo, LLC, Ashland, OR, USA)

■ RESULTS

Evaluation of Cell Expansion and Proliferation

■ DISCUSSION

■ ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

■ REFERENCES