Glucose and calcium ions may modulate the efficiency of bovine B-casomorphin-7 permeability through a monolayer of Caco-2 cells

Milk and dairy products provide a lot of valuable nutritive elements. They are also sources of biologically active peptides, including ß-casomorphins that manifest the properties of morphine. An activity of DPPIV seems to be most crucial factor decreasing the efficiency of the ß-casomorphin-7 (BCM7) transport. The increase of BCM7 concentration in blood may intensify symptoms of apparent life threatening events (ALTE), autism, schizophrenia, and allergy. This study aimed at identifying the influence of several selected substances on a transport efficiency of bovine BCM7 through an intestinal monolayer in a Caco-2 cell model system. Applying the ELISA method, the permeability coefficient of BCM7 through the Caco-2 monolayer was calculated. TEER values were used to evaluate the integrity of Caco-2 cell monolayers. An increase of glucose and Ca(2+) concentrations in the culture medium was accompanied by an increase of the BCM7 transport efficiency. The lowest permeability coefficients of BCM7 were observed for the membranes with high electrical resistances. The transport was enhanced in the presence of milk infant formulas, whereas no changes were observed when using µ-opioid receptor antagonist (casoxin-6). The results may be useful in understanding the pathogenesis of inflammation and food allergy in infants

Chitosan gels for the vaginal delivery of lactic acid: Relevance of formulation parameters to mucoadhesion and release mechanisms

The aim of this work was to assess the effect of formulation parameters of a mucoadhesive vaginal gel based on chitosan and lactic acid, and to highlight its release mechanisms. Two molecular weight chitosans were used to prepare gels with 2 lactic acid concentrations. Both chitosan molecular weight and lactic acid concentration had a significant and mutually dependent influence on mucoadhesion, measured on pig vaginal mucosa. Similarly, the lactate release profiles were found to be dependent on lactic acid content and polymer molecular weight