title: Butyrate inhibits interleukin-17 and generates Tregs to ameliorate colorectal colitis in rats.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Butyrate is an energy source for colonocytes that is formed by bacterial fermentation of dietary fiber in the colon and that exerts broad anti-inflammatory activities. Although the administration of butyrate improves homeostasis in patients and ameliorates IBD (Inflammatory Bowel Disease)-related lesions and symptoms, the anti-inflammatory mechanisms of butyrate still remain unclear. To explore the impact of butyrate on Treg (Regulatory T cell)/Th17 (T helper 17 cell) differentiation and colitis in rats.
  
  
  METHODS
  The effect of butyrate on the expression of markers related to both Tregs and Th17 cells were determined in human monocytes as well as a rat model of colitis induced by 2,4,6-trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid. Rats were treated with butyrate in vivo, whereas the rat splenocytes and human monocytes were treated in vitro.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We found that butyrate administration increased peripheral blood Treg cell levels as well as plasma levels of anti-Th17 cytokines (IL-10 and IL-12). Butyrate administration further suppressed IL-17 levels in both plasma and colonic mucosa, and ameliorated colonic colitis lesions in rats. This promotion of Treg activity and inhibition of IL-17 release was also observed in human venous monocytes and rat splenocytes in vitro.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results suggest that butyrate plays a key role in regulating the Treg/Th17 balance and ultimately protects the colon mucosa against the development of IBD.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, the Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China.|Department of Digestive Diseases, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Mingming
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Qian
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA.
authors.forename: Robert G
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Dorfman
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Nanjing Jiangbei People's Hospital Affiliated to Southeast University Medical School, Nanjing, China.
authors.forename: Xiaoli
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Institutes of Biomedical Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Tingting
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Fan
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China.
authors.forename: Hao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Digestive Diseases, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China. archsteed@163.com.
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, the Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China. chenggong-yu@nju.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Chenggong
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Yu
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001835:Body Weight; D002087:Butyrates / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000187:drug effects*; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D003093:Colitis, Ulcerative / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D003106:Colon / Q000473:pathology; D016207:Cytokines / Q000097:blood; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005232:Fatty Acids, Volatile / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D020381:Interleukin-17 / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D050378:T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects*
chemical_list: D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents; D002087:Butyrates; D016207:Cytokines; D005232:Fatty Acids, Volatile; D020381:Interleukin-17
keywords: Butyrate; Cytokines; Inflammatory bowel disease; Th17; Treg