Corn Peptides Alleviate Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Fibrosis in Mice by Inhibiting NLRP3 Inflammasome Activation and Regulating Gut Microbiota

作者：Jiamin Dang, Ting Cai, Yuanrong Tuo, Siwang Peng, Jing Wang, Aiying Gu, Jialu Li, Long Ding, Shuang‐kui Du, Li-Ying Wang · 发表于：Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry · 年份：2024 · DOI：10.1021/acs.jafc.4c04232 · 被引用次数：17 · 研究领域：Liver Disease Diagnosis and Treatment、Diet, Metabolism, and Disease、Liver Disease and Transplantation

This study aimed to investigate the effects of corn gluten-derived soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH) inhibitory peptides on nonalcoholic fatty liver fibrosis induced by a high-fat diet and carbon tetrachloride in mice. Mice treated with corn peptides at doses of 500 or 1000 mg/kg/d for 4 weeks exhibited reduced sEH activity in serum and liver, enhanced lipid metabolism, and decreased lipid accumulation and oxidative stress. Corn peptides effectively downregulated the mRNA levels of Pro-IL-1β, Pro-IL-18, NOD-like receptor protein 3 ( NLRP3 ), ASC, Pro-caspase-1, Caspase-1, and GSDMD in the liver. This hepatoprotective effect of corn peptides by inhibiting NLRP3 inflammasome activation was further validated in H 2 O 2 -induced HepG2 cells. Moreover, corn peptides restored the composition of the gut microbiota and promoted short-chain fatty acid production. This study provides evidence that corn-derived sEH inhibitory peptides have hepatoprotective activity against nonalcoholic fatty liver fibrosis by suppressing NLRP3 inflammasome activation and modulating gut microbiota.