Protective effect of glutathione against oxidative injury in intestinal epithelial cells of piglet in vitro

Oxidative stress of intestinal epithelium is involved in inflammatory bowel disease. To investigate protective effects of glutathione (GSH) on xanthine/xanthine oxidase (X/XO)-induced oxidative injury in intestinal epithelial cells (IECs). We employed in vitro cell culture supplemented with X/XO. IECS were cultured for 72 h, and then divided into seven groups with various concentrations of X/XO and GSH supplementation in the medium. Agarose get electrophoresis lanes indicated that X/XO induced DNA injury by the high concentration of XO (40, 70 U/L)-treated groups. The X/XO supplementation significantly increased the production of malondialdehyde (MDA) in a dose-dependent manner. There was a slight increase in total radical-trapping antioxidant potential (TRAP) value by the low concentration of XO (10U/L) alone-treated group (P > 0.05) while supplementation of a high concentration of XO (40, 70 U/L) significantly decreased TRAP value compared with XO (10 U/L) and the control group (P < 0.05). Addition of GSH decreased the production of MDA and DNA fragmentations (P < 0.05), but enhanced TRAP value (P < 0.05). These results suggest that IECs of piglet have the ability of enduring mild oxidative stress induced by a low concentration of XO. Although high concentrations of XO resulted in oxidation injury and lipid peroxidation in the IECs, additions of GSH to the medium showed significant protection against the X/XO-induced oxidative stress. (C) Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2009