The protective effect of teprenone in TNBS-induced ulcerative colitis rats by modulating the gut microbiota and reducing inflammatory response.

Objective: Ulcerative colitis (UC), a chronic and refractory nonspecific inflammatory bowel disease, affects millions of patients worldwide and increases the risk of colorectal cancer. Teprenone is an acylic polyisoprenoid that exerts anti-inflammatory properties in rat models of peptic ulcer disease. This in vitro and in vivo study was designed to investigate the effects of teprenone on UC and to explore the underlying mechanisms.

Methods: Human intestinal epithelial cells (Caco-2 cells) serve as the in vitro experimental model. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS, 1 μg/mL) was employed to stimulate the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines (interleukin [IL]-6, IL-1β, and tumor necrosis factor [TNF]-α), Toll-like receptor-4 (TLR4), MyD88 expression, and NF-κB activation. A trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (TNBS)-induced chronic UC rat model was employed for the in vivo assay.

Results: Pro-inflammatory cytokine stimulation by LPS in Caco-2 cells was inhibited by teprenone at 40 μg/mL through the TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway. Teprenone attenuated TNBS-induced UC, decreased myeloperoxidase and malondialdehyde, induced TLR4 expression and NF-κB activation, and increased glutathione and zonula occludens-1 level in the rat colonic tissue. Moreover, Fusobacterium, Escherichia coli, Porphyromonas gingivalis elevation, and Mogibacterium timidum decline in UC rats were inhibited by teprenone.

Conclusion: Based on our results, the protective effects of teprenone for UC may be related to its ability to modulate the gut microbiota and reduce the inflammatory response.