2 research outputs found
Intestinal Ellagitannin Metabolites Ameliorate Cytokine-Induced Inflammation and Associated Molecular Markers in Human Colon Fibroblasts
Pomegranate ellagitannins
(ETs) are transformed in the gut to ellagic
acid (EA) and its microbiota metabolites, urolithin A (Uro-A) and
urolithin B (Uro-B). These compounds exert anti-inflammatory effects
in vitro and in vivo. The aim of this study was to investigate the
effects of Uro-A, Uro-B, and EA on colon fibroblasts, cells that play
a key role in intestinal inflammation. CCD18-Co colon fibroblasts
were exposed to a mixture of Uro-A, Uro-B, and EA, at concentrations
comparable to those found in the colon (40 μM Uro-A, 5 μM
Uro-B, 1 μM EA), both in the presence or in the absence of IL-1β
(1 ng/mL) or TNF-α (50 ng/mL), and the effects on fibroblast
migration and monocyte adhesion were determined. The levels of several
growth factors and adhesion cytokines were also measured. The mixture
of metabolites significantly inhibited colon fibroblast migration
(∼70%) and monocyte adhesion to fibroblasts (∼50%).
These effects were concomitant with a significant down-regulation
of the levels of PGE<sub>2</sub>, PAI-1, and IL-8, as well as other
key regulators of cell migration and adhesion. Of the three metabolites
tested, Uro-A exhibited the most significant anti-inflammatory effects.
The results show that a combination of the ET metabolites found in
colon, urolithins and EA, at concentrations achievable in the intestine
after the consumption of pomegranate, was able to moderately improve
the inflammatory response of colon fibroblasts and suggest that consumption
of ET-containing foods has potential beneficial effects on gut inflammatory
diseases
A Dietary Resveratrol-Rich Grape Extract Prevents the Developing of Atherosclerotic Lesions in the Aorta of Pigs Fed an Atherogenic Diet
The presence of grape and wine polyphenol resveratrol
(RES) in
the diet is negligible. Therefore, the cardiovascular benefits of
this molecule, in a dietary context, remain to be established. We
aimed to investigate, through dietary intervention, the effects of
a resveratrol-rich grape extract (GE-RES) on the prevention of early
aortic lesions in pigs fed an atherogenic diet (AD). These effects
were compared with those produced by a grape extract lacking RES (GE)
or RES alone. Pigs fed the AD for 4 months showed early atherosclerotic
lesions in the thoracic aorta: degeneration and fragmentation of elastic
fibers, increase of intima thickness, subendothelial fibrosis, and
accumulation of fatty cells and anion superoxide radicals. GE-RES
was the most effective treatment and prevented the disruption of aortic
elastic fibers, decreased their alteration (57%), and reduced the
intima thickness (33%) and the accumulation of fatty cells (42%) and
O<sub>2</sub><sup>•–</sup> (38%) in aortic tissue. In
addition, GE-RES moderately downregulated the expression of the suppressors
of cytokine signaling 1 (<i>SOCS1</i>) and 3 (<i>SOCS3</i>), key regulators of vascular cell responses, in peripheral mononuclear
blood cells. Our results suggest that the consumption of this GE-RES
nutraceutical, in a dietary prevention context, could prevent early
atherosclerotic events. The presence of RES in the grape extract strengthened
these effects