Effects of dietary glutamine on the homeostasis of CD4+ T cells in mice with dextran sulfate sodium-induced acute colitis

This study investigated the effects of dietary glutamine (Gln) on T-helper (Th) and T regulatory (Treg) cell homeostasis and colonic inflammatory mediator expression in mice with dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis. Mice were randomly assigned to 4 groups with 2 normal control (C and G) and 2 DSS-treated groups (DC and DG). The C and DC groups were fed a common semipurified diet, while the G and DG groups received an identical diet except that part of the casein was replaced by Gln, which provided 25% of the total amino acid nitrogen. Mice were fed the diets for 10 days. On day 6, mice in the normal control groups were given distilled water, while those in the DSS groups were given distilled water containing 1.5% DSS for 5 d. At the end of the experiment, the mice were sacrificed for further examination. Results showed that DC group had higher plasma haptoglobin, colonic weight, immunoglobulin G, inflammatory cytokine and nuclear factor (NF)-κB protein levels. Gln administration lowered inflammatory mediators and NF-κB/IκBα ratio in colitis. Compared with the DC group, the percentages of interleukin-17F and interferon-γ in blood and transcription factors, T-bet and RAR-related orphan receptor-γt, gene expressions in mesenteric lymph nodes were lower, whereas blood Foxp3 was higher in the DG group. Also, DG group had lower colon injury score. These results suggest that Gln administration suppressed Th1/Th17 and Th-associated cytokine expressions and upregulated the expression of Tregs, which may modulate the balance of Th/Treg and reduce inflammatory reactions in DSS-induced colitis.