The incidence of inflammatory bowel diseases has increased during recent decades. Within the colon, the families of mucins (MUC) and trefoil... » More

The incidence of inflammatory bowel diseases has increased during recent decades. Within the colon, the families of

mucins (MUC) and trefoil factors (TFF) facilitate mucosal protection. Probiotic administration influences the intestinal MUC

layer. Additionally, food components may affect gut microflora or have direct effects on the MUC barrier. Our objective

was to determine whether diet and/or Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (LGG) would mediate dextran sodium sulfate (DSS)-

induced colitis by altering expression of the MUC and TFF genes. C57BL/6 mice were fed diets containing 20% (wt:wt)

casein, soy, or whey proteins with or without LGG for 12 d. Seven days after starting LGG diets, the mice were given 2%

DSS in drinking water for 4 d. Two additional casein groups with or without LGG were given tap water, for a total of 8

groups. One day after the DSS treatment, the mice were killed and the colon and cecum tissues and cecum contents were

collected and analyzed by qRT-PCR. Whey protein significantly increased cecal LGG content compared with the other

diets. In the casein diet groups, MUC1 and TFF-3 expression in colon was significantly induced by DSS independent of

LGG. Compared with other DSS-treated groups, soy protein decreased MUC-1 and TFF-3 in the colon. Similarly, soy

protein decreased the impact of DSS on inflammatory scores, TNFa gene expression, and colon shortening. There was no

overall effect of LGG on these measurements. In conclusion, soy protein suppressed the DSS-induced inflammatory

stimulation of MUC, TFF, and TNFa gene expression independently of LGG.

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