title: Inhibitory effect of carnosine on interleukin-8 production in intestinal epithelial cells through translational regulation.
abstract: The enhanced intestinal production of pro-inflammatory cytokines leads to inflammation and carcinogenesis, and therefore its down-regulation by nutrients could represent a promising therapeutic approach. We found for the first time that the secretion of interleukin-8 (IL-8) in intestinal epithelial cells stimulated by hydrogen peroxide or TNF-alpha was suppressed in the presence of carnosine (beta-Ala-His), a dietary dipeptide. Interestingly, carnosine had no influence on the stimulus-induced IL-8 mRNA expression, although the intracellular production and secretion of IL-8 were significantly inhibited by carnosine. The inhibitory effect of carnosine on the IL-8 secretion differed from that of other histidine-containing dipeptides like Gly-His, Ala-His, and anserine (beta-Ala-1-methyl-His), which inhibited both the hydrogen peroxide-induced secretion and mRNA expression of IL-8. These observations indicate that carnosine inhibited IL-8 secretion along a unique pathway, in which IL-8 production was suppressed at a post-transcriptional level, for instance, translation. The hypothesis that carnosine inhibited the translation of IL-8 mRNA is supported by the finding that the phosphorylation of eIF4E, an initiation factor, in stimulated Caco-2 cells was inhibited by carnosine. These results suggest that carnosine is a novel type of anti-inflammatory agent that down-regulates the inflammatory response in intestinal epithelial cells by a unique mechanism.
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Biological Chemistry, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, 1-1-1 Yayoi, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8657, Japan. Electronic address: gusuldo_99@yahoo.co.jp.
authors.forename: Dong Ok
authors.initials: DO
authors.lastname: Son
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Biological Chemistry, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, 1-1-1 Yayoi, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8657, Japan.
authors.forename: Hideo
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Satsu
authors.affiliation: Suntory Institute for Health Care Science, 1-1-1 Wakayamadai, Shimamoto-cho, Mishima-gun, Osaka 618-8503, Japan.
authors.forename: Yoshinobu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kiso
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Biological Chemistry, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, 1-1-1 Yayoi, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8657, Japan.
authors.forename: Mamoru
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Totsuka
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Biological Chemistry, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, 1-1-1 Yayoi, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8657, Japan.
authors.forename: Makoto
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shimizu
mesh_terms: D018938:Caco-2 Cells; D002336:Carnosine / Q000502:physiology*; D004847:Epithelial Cells / Q000378:metabolism*; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D006861:Hydrogen Peroxide / Q000378:metabolism; D016209:Interleukin-8 / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors* / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D007413:Intestinal Mucosa / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D016209:Interleukin-8; D002336:Carnosine; D006861:Hydrogen Peroxide