壳聚糖虾青素纳米颗粒缓解小鼠结肠炎

Chitosan⁃Modified Astaxanthin⁃Loaded Nanoparticles Ameliorate Inflammatory Bowel Disease in Mice

炎症性肠病(inflammatory bowel disease,IBD)的发病率不断上升,但其传统药物疗法存在一定的局限性,包载天然活性物质的纳米颗粒缓解结肠炎成为研究热点。该文通过薄膜水合⁃高压均质化法制备了壳聚糖(chitosan,CS)包覆的负载虾青素(astaxanthin,AST)的纳米颗粒(chitosan⁃modified astaxanthin⁃loaded nanoparticles,CS⁃AST⁃NPs),对该纳米颗粒的粒径、Zeta电位、包封率、体外消化特性等进行检测,并评估纳米颗粒对葡聚糖硫酸钠(dextran sulfate sodium salt,DSS)诱导的小鼠结肠炎的缓解作用。结果表明该纳米颗粒的粒径集中在36 nm,Zeta电位为30.77 mV,包封率达到91.91%,且稳定性良好。体外模拟释放试验表明,CS⁃AST⁃NPs具有良好的缓释性。此外,CS⁃AST⁃NPs可以有效缓解DSS诱导的结肠炎的症状,表现为抑制结肠炎小鼠体质量的下降,降低疾病活动指数,抑制结肠缩短,改善小鼠结肠组织损伤和黏膜上皮细胞的完整性。同时,CS⁃AST⁃NPs能够降低促炎细胞因子的水平,减轻DSS诱导的炎症反应和氧化损伤。综上所述,CS⁃AST⁃NPs在IBD的改善中有良好的应用前景。

The incidence of inflammatory bowel disease(IBD)has been increasing in recent years.Owing to the limitations of conventional drug therapies,the natural bioactive substances loaded by nanoparticles have emerged as a captivating avenue for potential treatment.Thin⁃film dispersion and high⁃pressure homogeniza⁃tion were employed to develop chitosan(CS)⁃modified astaxanthin(AST)⁃loaded nanoparticles(CS⁃AST⁃NPs).The nanoparticles were evaluated in terms of particle size,Zeta potential,encapsulation efficiency(EE),and in vitro release assay.A mouse model of dextran sodium sulfate(DSS)⁃induced ulcerative colitis was estab⁃lished to evaluate the alleviating effect of CS⁃AST⁃NPs on colitis.The results demonstrated that CS⁃AST⁃NPs had an average particle size of 36 nm,Zeta potential of 30.77 mV,EE of 91.91%,and good storage stability.The CS⁃AST⁃NPs exhibited sustained release in the simulated gastrointestinal environment.Moreover,the CS⁃AST⁃NPs alleviated the clinical symptoms of DSS⁃induced colitis in mice,which included maintaining body weight,reducing disease activity index,inhibiting colon shortening,alleviating histopathological damage,and improving the integrity of epithelial cells.More importantly,CS⁃AST⁃NPs substantially lowered the levels of pro⁃inflammatory cytokines and ameliorated DSS⁃induced oxidative damage in the inflamed colon tissue.Over all,the results suggested that CS⁃AST⁃NPs held great promise as a novel therapy for the treatment of IBD.