Molecular and cellular studies on the absorption, function, and safety of food components in intestinal epithelial cells

This review was written in response to the author’s receipt of the JSBBA Award for Young Scientists in 2012.

Abstract

The intestinal tract comes into direct contact with the external environment despite being inside the body. Intestinal epithelial cells, which line the inner face of the intestinal tract, have various important functions, including absorption of food substances, immune functions such as cytokine secretion, and barrier function against xenobiotics by means of detoxification enzymes. It is likely that the functions of intestinal epithelial cells are regulated or modulated by these components because they are frequently exposed to food components at high concentrations. This review summarizes our research on the interaction between intestinal epithelial cells and food components at cellular and molecular levels. The influence of xenobiotic contamination in foods on the cellular function of intestinal epithelial cells is also described in this review.

Graphical abstract

Relationship between various food components and intestinal epithelial cells.

Key words:

• intestinal epithelial cells
• transporter
• inflammation
• detoxification
• xenobiotic

Acknowledgments

This work was performed at the Laboratory of Food Chemistry, Department of Applied Biological Chemistry, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Prof. Makoto Shimizu for his continuous support and invaluable discussion. I am greatly thankful to Prof. Soichi Arai for his helpful guidance and encouragement. I am very grateful to Prof. Keiko Abe, Prof. Toshihide Nishimura, Prof. Yusei Miyamoto, Prof. Ryuichiro Sato, Prof. Hiroto Watanabe, and Prof. Mamoru Totsuka for fruitful discussions. I thank Prof. Kozo Ochi, Prof. Yuzuru Tozawa, Prof. Hugh Rosen, and Dr. Steven J. Brown for their helpful support and encouragement. I also thank all my research collaborators and the members of the Laboratory of Food Chemistry, Department of Applied Biological Chemistry, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences at The University of Tokyo for their help and technical support.

Notes

This review was written in response to the author’s receipt of the JSBBA Award for Young Scientists in 2012.

Abbreviations: AhR, aryl hydrocarbon receptor; DSS, dextran sulfate sodium; ECg, epicatechin gallate; IBD, inflammatory bowel disease; IL-8, interleukin-8; MDR1, multidrug resistance 1; NQO1, NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase 1; Nrf-2, Nf-E2 related factor 2; NFκB, nuclear factor kappa B; PXR, pregnane X receptor; SGLT1, sodium-dependent glucose transporter; TAUT, taurine transporter; TNF-α, tumor necrosis factor-alpha