Dietary Supplementation with Sea Bass (<i>Lateolabrax maculatus</i>) Ameliorates Ulcerative Colitis and Inflammation in Macrophages through Inhibiting Toll-Like Receptor 4-Linked Pathways

• Main Authors: Jiali Chen, Muthukumaran Jayachandran, Wenxia Zhang, Lingyuqing Chen, Bin Du, Zhiling Yu, Baojun Xu
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2019-06-01
• Series: International Journal of Molecular Sciences
• Subjects: inflammation; ulcerative colitis; dietary therapy; TLR4 signaling
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/20/12/2907

Sea bass (<i>Lateolabrax maculatus</i>) is a kind of food material commonly consumed in daily life. In traditional Chinese medicinal books, it has been indicated that sea bass can be applied for managing many inflammation-associated conditions. However, the studies on the pharmacological mechanisms of inflammation of sea bass remain scarce. Hence, this study aims to investigate the molecular mechanisms of the anti-inflammatory activity of sea bass. Anti-inflammatory activities of sea bass were assessed using dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis in a mice model and lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-activated macrophages model. Low body weight and short colon length were observed in DSS-fed mice that were significantly recovered upon sea bass treatments. Moreover, the colon histopathology score showed that sea bass-treated mice had decreased crypt damage, focal inflammation infiltration and the extent of inflammation, suggesting that treatment with sea bass could attenuate intestinal inflammation. In addition, the in-vitro study conjointly indicated that sea bass could suppress the inflammatory mediators in LPS-activated macrophage by inhibiting the TLR4-linked pathway. The present findings demonstrated that sea bass has an inhibitory effect on TLR4 signaling; thus, it could be a promising candidate for treating inflammation-associated conditions. A further justification for the clinical application of sea bass in treating inflammation-associated conditions is necessary.