Effects of Methylmethionine Sulfonium Chloride on Activity and Tight Junction Protein Expression of Intestinal Porcine Jejunum Epithelial Cells (IPEC-J2)

Background: The intestinal mucosal epithelium acts as a physical and biochemical barrier and plays an important role in regulating of barrier function and immune homeostasis. Methylmethionine sulfonium chloride (MMSC) is a multifaceted amino acid that is critical to the normal physiology of the gastrointestinal tract. The present study investigated the effects of extracellular MMSC on intestinal epithelial cell line (IPEC-J2). Methods: IPEC-J2 cells were treated with 0.1, 0.5 and 1 mM MMSC, respectively for an additional 24 h. CCK-8 assay was used to evaluate cell proliferation. The cell Annexin V-FITC/PI apoptosis were analyzed by flow cytometry (FCM) method. The mRNA transcript and protein expression levels of tight junction proteins in IPEC-J2 cells were detected by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) and western blotting (WB). Result: The results showed that MMSC could stimulate IPEC-J2 cells proliferation and inhibit cell apoptosis. In addition, the RT-qPCR and WB results indicated that 0.5 mM MMSC significantly increased the mRNA and protein expression of tight junction proteins, including occludin, claudin-1 and zonula occludin-1 (Zo-1). These findings may provide valuable information to investigate further the possible mechanism and function of MMCS on the intestinal barrier function.