Crude extract of hydatid laminated layer from Echinococcus granulosus cyst attenuates mucosal intestinal damage and inflammatory responses in Dextran Sulfate Sodium induced colitis in mice

Imene Soufli; Ryma Toumi; Hayet Rafa; Manel Amri; Moussa Labsi; Lila Khelifi; Ferdinando Nicoletti; Chafia Touil-Boukoffa

doi:10.1186/s12950-015-0063-6

Crude extract of hydatid laminated layer from Echinococcus granulosus cyst attenuates mucosal intestinal damage and inflammatory responses in Dextran Sulfate Sodium induced colitis in mice

J Inflamm (Lond). 2015 Mar 17:12:19. doi: 10.1186/s12950-015-0063-6. eCollection 2015.

Authors

Imene Soufli¹, Ryma Toumi¹, Hayet Rafa¹, Manel Amri¹, Moussa Labsi¹, Lila Khelifi¹, Ferdinando Nicoletti², Chafia Touil-Boukoffa¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Biology, Laboratory of Cellular and Molecular Biology, University of Sciences and Technology Houari Boumediene USTHB, Algiers, Algeria.
² Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Catania, Catania, Italy.

Abstract

Background: Inflammatory bowel disease is an immunologically mediated disease. Notably, it is less common in countries where there is a greater risk of exposure to helminths. In our study, we examined the modulatory effect of the laminated layer extracted from the cyst wall of a helminth parasite, Echinococcus granulosus, on dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis in mice.

Methods: An acute colitis was induced in BALB/c mice using 2.5% w/v DSS in drinking water. The crude extract of E. granulosus laminated layer was injected intraperitoneally daily, starting 3 days before colitis induction. The Disease Activity Index was monitored daily, colon length and weight were measured and histological scores were evaluated. Nitric oxide (NO) and cytokine levels (interferon γ (IFN-γ), tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) and interleukin 10 (IL-10)) were assessed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. In addition, the colonic expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) was examined. Statistical analyses were performed by one-way analysis of variance and the survival rate was analyzed by the long rank test.

Results: Hydatid laminated layer pretreatment significantly improved the clinical symptoms and histological scores (*** p < 0.01) observed during DSS-induced colitis and maintained mucus production by goblet cells. Furthermore, treatment with hydatid laminated layer caused a significant decrease in NO, IFN-γ (** p < 0.01) and TNF-α production (* p < 0.05) and an increase in IL-10 production. These results were associated with localized downregulation of iNOS and NF-κB expression.

Conclusions: Our results demonstrate the potent anti-inflammatory effects of hydatid laminated layer. Furthermore, preventive treatment with the laminated layer played a beneficial role in maintaining the integrity of the intestinal mucosal barrier against DSS-induced injury.

Keywords: Echinococcus granulosus; Experimental colitis; Inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS); Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD); Interferon (IFN)-γ; Nitric oxide (NO); Nuclear factor-κB; helminth; hydatid laminated layer; tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α.