CHITOSAN AND CHITINASE ACTIVITY IN THE INTESTINAL MUCOSA COULD HAVE IMPLICATIONS FOR THE IMMUNE RESPONSE

PORPORATTO, C.; MOINE, LUCIANA BEATRIZ; CORREA, SILVIA G; SALINAS SILVINA

Mar del PLata

Congreso; LXX Reunión anual de la Sociedad Argentina de Inmunología; 2022

Sociedad Argentina de Inmunología

Chitosan (Q) is a polymer derived from the partial deacetylation of chitin with a wide spectrum of biomedical applicability. Recently, it has been suggested that conserved chitin recognition and degradation systems in mammals could produce persistent immune activation affecting mucosal feedback mechanisms. Considering the role of epithelial cells (IECs) in intestinal immunity, we evaluated the activity of Q using in vitro and in vivo models. We evaluated the viability (MTT assay) and the migratory capacity (wound healing assay) with the IEC-18 cell line (rat small intestine cell line) after 24, 48 and 72 h of stimulation with different doses of Q. On the other hand, C57BL/6 mice were gavaged with PBS (control), 0.1 mM acetic acid (diluent), or a single dose of 5 mg/ml Q. After 16 h, IECs were isolated and E-cadherin expression was assessed (% and MFI) by flow cytometry ex vivo or after restimulation with Q. Finally, we measured chitinase activity in homogenized intestinal mucosa from untreated control mice aged 21-45 days (colorimetric assay). We found that Q did not alter the viability of IEC-18 cells at the doses (10 to 1000 µg/ml) and time studied. In addition, Q stimulated cell migration with a significantly higher percentage of wound closure at 24 h (200 to 1000 µg/ml) (p