Fortunellin-Induced Modulation of Phosphatase and Tensin Homolog by MicroRNA-374a Decreases Inflammation and Maintains Intestinal Barrier Function in Colitis.

Activation of phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) is known to induce cell apoptosis. MicroRNA-374a (miR-374a), which can suppress PTEN expression, has been found abnormally expressed in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Fortunellin is a citrus flavonoid that is a potential anti-inflammation agent in inflammatory diseases. The present study investigated the effects and mechanisms underlying fortunellin-induced inhibition of PTEN in IBD. Colitis was established in rats by the intracolonic administration of 2,4,6-trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid to mimic human ulcerative colitis, which is the main type of IBD. miR-374a expression was measured by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction, and the regulation of PTEN by miR-374a was evaluated by dual luciferase reporter assay. Western blotting was used to measure the corresponding protein expression. Fortunellin ameliorated colitis symptoms, including excessive inflammation and oxidative stress. Fortunellin decreased epithelial cell apoptosis through inhibiting PTEN expression in colitis. Fortunellin-induced downregulation of PTEN could be counteracted by miR-374a depletion. Moreover, knockdown of miR-374a in vivo partly inhibited the effects of fortunellin on rat colitis. In conclusion, PTEN inhibition contributes to the amelioration effects of fortunellin on colitis. It was confirmed that fortunellin targets miR-374a, which is a negative regulator of PTEN. This study provides novel insights into the pathological mechanisms and treatment alternatives of colitis.

Introduction

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a well-known gastrointestinal disease, characterized by severe inflammation of the small bowel and/or colon, and is associated with a high degree of patient impairment and economic burden. Crohn’s disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) are the two major forms of IBD (1, 2).

The pathogenesis of IBD is complex and multifactorial (3, 4). A defective intestinal epithelial barrier, leading to increased intestinal penetration by luminal bacterial antigens (Ags), has been postulated to be an important pathogenic factor that contributes to the development of intestinal inflammation (5). Regardless of tight junction function, epithelial cell apoptosis could lead to an increase in the permeability of human epithelial monolayers and further intestinal barrier loss (6, 7). Enhanced apoptosis of enterocytes contributes to an increase in epithelial permeability in doxorubicin-treated rats (8).

Phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) is a frequently inactivated tumor suppressor in human cancer (9, 10). Protein kinase B (Akt) activation can be negatively regulated by PTEN (11, 12). The Akt/glycogen synthase kinase-3β (GSK-3β) signaling pathway plays an important role in cellular proliferation, cell survival, neovascularization, and tumor growth (13, 14). Activated Akt phosphorylates and inactivates GSK-3β to inhibit cell apoptosis (15). MicroRNAs are a novel class of small, endogenous, non-coding RNAs with important participation in posttranscriptional gene regulation in plants and animals (16, 17). PTEN is known to be targeted by microRNA-374a (miR-374a) (16). The expression of miR-374a in colon bioscopies from patients with CD and UC were both lower than that from normal subjects (18). In our previous study, genome-wide next-generation sequencing was performed to compare the expression of PTEN and miR-374a in normal control, 2,4,6-trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (TNBS)-induced colitis, and fortunellin-treated colitis in rats. Sequencing results indicated a high expression of PTEN and low expression of miR-374a in colitis, which can be reversed by fortunellin. Fortunellin (acacetin 7-O-neohesperidoside) is a citrus flavonoid isolated from kumquat fruit (19). Kumquat extract has attracted much attention recently for its beneficial effects on human health, which include antitumor, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory characteristics (20). The beneficial effects of flavonoids on IBD have been confirmed in many studies (21). However, although fortunellin is the main flavonoid in kumquat, there is a lack of information on its alleviation of IBD.

Based on previous sequencing analysis, the aim of this study was to investigate fortunellin-induced regulation of miR-374a/PTEN in colitis. A rat colitis model was established by the intracolonic administration of TNBS. TNBS can haptenate proteins with trinitrophenyl groups and induce T cell-mediated mucosal inflammation (22). A TNBS-induced rat model of chronic colitis is a classic representation of human UC, although it is difficult to control the dose of TNBS in a model setting (23, 24).

Materials and Methods

Animals

Sprague–Dawley male rats (5–7 weeks of age, weighing 180–220 g) were purchased from the Experimental Animal Center, Dalian Medical University [Certificate of Conformity: No. SYXK (Liao) 2013-0006]. This study was carried out in accordance with the recommendations of the National Institute of Health Guide for Care and Use of Laboratory Animals (Publication no. 85-23, revised 1985), and Dalian Medical University Animal Care and Ethics Committee. The animals were acclimatized to laboratory conditions (23°C, 12/12 h light/dark, 50% humidity, ad libitum access to food and water) for 2 weeks prior to experimentation and no animals died before the experiments.

Reagents

Fortunellin (Purity speciation: ≥98%) was obtained from the Chinese National Institute for the Control of Pharmaceutical and Biological Products (Beijing, China). Sulfasalazine (SASP) was purchased from Tianjin Kingyork Group Co. Ltd. (Tianjin, China). The PTEN antibodies, GSK-3β antibodies, caspase3 antibodies, Bax antibodies, and Bcl-2 antibodies were obtained from Abcam (Hong Kong) Ltd. (Hong Kong, China). Akt antibody was purchased from Cell Signaling Technology (Shanghai) Biological Reagents Company Ltd. (Shanghai, China). Scrambled miRNA antagomir and miRNA antagomir of miR-374a were obtained from Guangzhou RiboBio Co., Ltd. (Guangzhou, China). Other agents were purchased from Sigma-Aldrich (St. Louis, MO, USA).

Experimental Design

Sixty rats were used in the antagomir for miR-374a study, and the remaining 60 rats were randomly divided into five groups, each consisting of 12 rats. Group I served as the sham operation group. Groups II, III, IV, and V were administered intracolonic TNBS to induce colitis. Group II served as the colitis control group. After colitis induction, groups III, IV, and V were then treated with SASP (100 mg/kg b.wt, intragastric, dissolved in saline), a low dose of fortunellin (20 mg/kg b.wt, intragastric, dissolved in saline), or a high dose of fortunellin (80 mg/kg b.wt, intragastric, dissolved in saline), respectively. SASP, an anti-inflammatory drug to treat IBD, was used as a positive control for the effects of fortunellin on colitis (25). SASP and fortunellin were administered by gavage once a day for 14 consecutive days. The rat colitis model was induced as described previously (26). Briefly, rats were fasted for 24 h with free access to drinking water. A catheter was inserted through the anus to approximately the level of the splenic flexure (8 cm proximal to the anal verge) under urethane anesthesia. The colon was then infused with 1 mL of TNBS dissolved in ethanol (50% v/v) at a dose of 125 mg/kg. The rats were allowed to eat and drink ad libitum from 1 h after the operation. Distal colon samples were harvested for biochemical studies.

Assessment of Colitis Symptoms

Animal body weights, diarrhea incidence, and total food intake for each group were recorded every day. Colon macroscopically visible damage was measured using a 0–10 scale, colon weight/length ratio was also measured (27, 28). According to morphological criteria described previously, the degree of inflammation was assessed in routine hematoxylin and eosin (HE)-stained colon sections (29). After the animals were sacrificed, colon tissues were cut into 5 mm pieces and fixed on slides and then used for immunohistochemistry studies according to a routine procedure.

TUNEL Assay

Colon samples from rats in every group were harvested and fixed in 4% paraformaldehyde. After being frozen in embedded medium, samples were cut into 5-µm sections and TUNEL assay was performed according to the manufacturer’s instructions (30, 31).

qRT-PCR Analysis of miR-374a Expression

An NCode SYBR green miRNA qRT-PCR Kit (Invitrogen) was used to validate miR-374a expression. Briefly, 200 ng of small RNA was converted to cDNA. The reverse primer was the NCode miRNA universal qPCR primer (Invitrogen). The forward primer for miR-374a was 5′-TAATACTGCCGGGTAATGATGG-3′; the cycle threshold (Ct) was recorded. The expression of miR-374a in tissues was calculated relative to U6B, a ubiquitously expressed small nuclear RNA that has been widely used as an internal control (32). Data are presented as miR-374a expression = 2ΔCt, with ΔCt = (U6B Ct − miR-374a Ct).

Evaluation of the Epithelial Barrier Function

Intestinal barrier function was measured in vivo according to a previous study (33). Briefly, 150 µL 80 mg/mL fluorescein isothiocyanate-4 kD dextran (FD-4) (Sigma-Aldrich, St. Louis, MO, USA) was gavaged and serum recovery of FD-4 was measured using a Synergy HT plate reader (BioTek, Winooski, VT, USA). Enhanced serum recovery of FD-4 indicates intestinal barrier dysfunction. Transepithelial electrical resistance (TER) of filter-grown Caco-2 monolayers was recorded by epithelial voltohmmeter (34, 35). A decrease in TER indicates intestinal barrier dysfunction in vitro.

Measurement of Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) Production

The ROS content in IEC-6 cells was measured using flow cytometry according to previous reports (36). IEC-6 cells were treated with lipopolysaccharides (LPS) or fortunellin. Non-treated IEC-6 cells served as normal control. Briefly, after treatment with LPS or fortunellin for the indicated times, the cells were detached and then loaded with 10 µM DCFH-DA. DCFH-DA was purchased from Beyotime Biotechnology (Shanghai, China).

Dual Luciferase Reporter Assays

Plasmids containing wild-type miR-374a-PTEN response element (wt-Luc-SIRT1) and the mutant (mut-Luc-PEEN) were obtained from GenePharma Corp. (Shanghai, China). Plasmid DNA (wt-Luc-PTEN, mut-Luc-PTEN, or control vector) and miR-374a inhibitor or miR-374a inhibitor negative control were co-transfected into Caco-2 cells using Lipofectamine 2000 (Invitrogen). After 24 h transfection, the cells were incubated without (control) or with fortunellin for 24 h, then reporter assays were performed. A Dual-Light Chemiluminescent Reporter Gene Assay System (Berthold, Germany) was used to measure luciferase activity, which was then normalized to Renilla luciferase activity.

RNA Interference Assay

PTEN silencing by RNA interference using short hairpin RNA (shRNA) (5′-GATCCCCAGACCATAACCCACCACAGTTCAAGAGACTGTGGTGGGTTATGGTCTTTTTTA-3′) was designed using the Oligoengine RNA interference design tool. The resulting oligonucleotides were subcloned into the pSUPER-puro vector and transfected into Caco-2 cells using Lipofectamine 2000 according to the manufacturer’s instructions (Invitrogen). The random oligonucleotide (5′-GATCCCCAAGGAGACGAGCAAGAGAATTCAAGAGATTCTCTTGCTCGTCTCCTTTTTTTA-3′) was used as control (37).

Antagomir Silencing of miR-374a Expression in Rats

Sixty rats were randomized into four groups: negative control group (20 rats), miR-374a antagomir group (20 rats), TNBS control group (10 rats), and sham group (10 rats). The negative control and miR-374a antagomir groups were injected via the tail vein with either a scrambled miRNA antagomir or miRNA antagomir of mir-374a at a dose of 20 nmol/mL for 3 days, respectively. The negative control and miR-374a antagomir groups were then treated with TNBS and fortunellin, respectively.

Statistical Analysis

The western blotting images were quantified by Image Lab (version 4.0.1, Bio-Rad, CA, USA). Statistical analyses were performed using GraphPad Prism (version 6.0; GraphPad Prism Software, La Jolla, CA, USA). One-way ANOVA was used where three or more groups of data were compared. Two-tailed unpaired Student’s t-test was used to compare two groups of data. Data were expressed as the mean ± SD. The data followed a normal distribution and each group had equal variances. All experiments were repeated at least three times or in multiple animals. P < 0.05 was considered significantly different.

Results

Dose/Concentration Selection and Toxicity of Fortunellin in Normal Cells and Rats

As shown in Figure S1 in Supplementary Material, IEC-6 and Caco-2 cell lines were used to measure the effects of fortunellin on cell viability. Fortunellin in the dose range of 5–80 µM did not affect cell viability in both IEC-6 and Caco-2 cells with an incubation time of 24 h. Gavage administration of fortunellin (5, 20, and 80 mg/kg) consecutively for 7 days did not significantly affect rat body weight and food intake (Figures S2A,B in Supplementary Material). Gavage administration of fortunellin exerted no influence on myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity and intestinal permeability, which suggested that fortunellin does not induce inflammation and intestinal barrier dysfunction at higher doses of 80 mg/kg (Figures S2C,D in Supplementary Material). Fortunellin also did not change the expressions of miR-374a and PTEN in normal rats (Figures S2E,F in Supplementary Material). Based on these pre-experiments and the preliminary results reported by other researchers (19), we used ≤80 mg/kg fortunellin for in vivo and ≤80 μM fortunellin for in vitro experiments in the current study.

Fortunellin Ameliorated Colitis Symptoms in Rat Colitis

Body weight and food intake were significantly reduced in rats after the induction of colitis compared to sham rats. HE-stained colon sections revealed that inflammatory symptoms, including neutral inflammatory cell infiltration, intestinal wall edema, and crypt structure damage, were found in the colitis group but not in the sham group. Macroscopically visible damage and colon weight-to-length ratio were significantly increased compared to those in the sham group. Biochemical and macroscopic analysis confirmed the successful establishment of colitis. Fortunellin (5 or 80 mg/kg) ameliorated these inflammation symptoms (Figure 1). Moreover, fortunellin (5 or 80 mg/kg) reversed the excessive pro-inflammatory cytokine (TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6) profiles and MPO activity in the TNBS-induced colitis model (Figure 2). These data indicated that fortunellin significantly ameliorated colitis symptoms.

Figure 1

Fortunellin ameliorated colitis symptoms. (A) Hematoxylin and eosin-staining analysis of rat colonic tissue. Effects of fortunellin on (B) body weight, (C) food intake, (D) macroscopically visible damage, and (E) colon weight-to-length ratio in rats with colitis. Data are expressed as the mean ± SD. **P < 0.01 compared with the sham group (n = 7); ##P < 0.01 compared with the 2,4,6-trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid control group (n = 7). SASP, sulfasalazine; fortunellin (L), 20 mg/kg fortunellin; fortunellin (H), 80 mg/kg fortunellin.

Figure 2

Fortunellin treatment attenuated cytokine levels and myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity. Rats with colitis were gavaged with fortunellin (L, 20 mg/kg; H, 80 mg/kg) every day for 14 days, then colonic expression of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) level (A), IL-1β level (B), IL-6 level (C), and MPO activity (D) from different groups were measured by ELISA. **P < 0.01 compared with the TNBS control group (n = 7).

Fortunellin Reduced Intestinal Permeability and Oxide Stress

Serum recovery of FD-4 was significantly increased after colitis induction, which indicated that intestinal permeability in the colitis model was increased. Fortunellin treatment reversed the increase in FD-4 expression in colitis. These results showed that fortunellin could alleviate intestinal barrier dysfunction and decrease intestinal permeability (Figure 3A).

Figure 3

Fortunellin reversed intestinal barrier loss and excessive oxidative stress in colitis. Rats with colitis were gavaged with fortunellin (L, 20 mg/kg/day; H, 80 mg/kg/day) for 14 days, then, expressions of serum fluorescein isothiocyanate-4 kD dextran (FD-4) level (A) and colonic expressions of malonaldehyde (MDA) level (B), glutathione (GSH) levels (C), and superoxide dismutase (SOD) (D) levels from different groups were measured by ELISA. Caco-2 monolayers were incubated with 100 ng/mL lipopolysaccharides (LPS) in the presence or absence of fortunellin for 24 h, and then the reactive oxygen species (ROS) content was measured by flow cytometer (E). **P < 0.01 compared with the sham group (n = 7); ##P < 0.01 compared with 2,4,6-trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (TNBS) control group or LPS control group (n = 7).

Accumulation of malonaldehyde (MDA) and decreased expression of glutathione (GSH) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) in colon tissue were observed after colitis induction. Fortunellin reversed the abnormal expressions of MDA, GSH, and SOD in colitis rats (Figures 3B–D). LPS incubation induced a marked increase of ROS generation in IEC-6 cells, and fortunellin treatment decreased ROS generation (Figure 3E).

Fortunellin Decreased PTEN Expression and Increased miR-374a Expression

To test our hypothesis that the fortunellin-induced protective effects on epithelial barrier integrity are mediated by the miR-374a/PTEN pathway, we measured the effects of fortunellin on miR-374a and PTEN expression in rat colitis.

Immunohistochemistry and western blotting data showed that PTEN expression in most rats was significantly increased after the induction of colitis, and fortunellin treatment decreased the expression of PTEN (Figures 4A,C).

Figure 4

Fortunellin reversed the abnormal expression of phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) and microRNA-374a in colitis. Rats with colitis were gavaged with fortunellin (L, 20 mg/kg/day; H, 80 mg/kg/day) for 14 days, then colonic expression of PTEN were measured by immunohistochemistry (A) and western blotting (C) respectively. The expression of microRNA-374a (miR-374a) were measured by RT-qPCR (B). **P < 0.01 compared with the sham group (n = 7); ##P < 0.01 compared with the 2,4,6-trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (TNBS) control group (n = 7).

Real-time PCR data indicated that decreased expression of miR-374a was observed in colitis, fortunellin treatment reversed the abnormal expression of miR-374a (Figure 4B).

Fortunellin Decreased Apoptosis in Colitis

A TUNEL assay showed that TNBS induced excessive apoptosis in intestinal epithelial cells, which was decreased by fortunellin administration (Figure 5A). Increased Bax, increased cleaved caspase3 level, and decreased Bcl-2 level were observed in colitis, fortunellin reversed the abnormal expression of Bax, caspase3, and Bcl-2 (Figures 5B–D). The decreased Akt expression and increased GSK-3β expression in colitis were also reversed by fortunellin (Figures 5E,F). These data indicate that the Akt/GSK-3β pathway is involved in the amelioration effects of fortunellin on apoptosis.

Figure 5

Fortunellin attenuated cell apoptosis in colitis. Effects of fortunellin (L, 20 mg/kg/day; H, 80 mg/kg/day) on the enhanced epithelial cell apoptosis level in colitis by TUNEL assay. Colonic tissues were subjected to TUNEL and imaging by fluorescence microscopy (A). Effects of fortunellin on protein expression of apoptosis-related proteins (B) caspase-3, (C) Bax, (D) Bcl-2 and phosphorylation levels of (E) GSK-3β and (F) Akt induced by 2,4,6-trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (TNBS) were measured. **P < 0.01 compared with TNBS control group (n = 7).

Inhibition of PTEN Suppressed Fortunellin-Induced Protective Effects of Intestinal Epithelial Barrier Function

To confirm the role of PTEN inhibition in fortunellin-induced protective effects on epithelial integrity, we measured the effects of fortunellin in LPS-induced barrier dysfunction in vitro. Inhibition of PTEN was accomplished by using RNA interference technology.

In the presence of LPS, the phosphorylation of Akt was significantly decreased and the phosphorylation of GSK-3β, levels of caspase3 and TER were all significantly increased. All these changes could be reversed by fortunellin. The effects of fortunellin treatment on LPS-induced intestinal permeability could be significantly inhibited by PTEN directed-shRNA. In conclusion, PTEN is involved in fortunellin protective effects on epithelial integrity (Figure 6).

Figure 6

RNA interference of phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) inhibited fortunellin-induced protection of intestinal barrier function. After transfection of Caco-2 cells using short hairpin RNA targeting PTEN, the Caco-2 cells were incubated with 100 ng/mL lipopolysaccharides (LPS) in the presence or absence of fortunellin for 24 h, (A) Akt phosphorylation, (B) glycogen synthase kinase-3β (GSK-3β) phosphorylation, (C) caspase-3, and (D) transepithelial electrical resistance (TER) were examined. Values in the LPS control group are set to 100% and other values are given relative to those in the LPS control group. **P < 0.01 compared with the LPS control group.

miR-374a Decreased Fortunellin-Induced Inhibitory Effects of PTEN

To further measure the effects of miR-374a on PTEN expression, a luciferase assay was performed. Antago-miR-374a and luciferase reporter plasmids containing the miR-374a-PTEN response element (wt-Luc-PTEN) or a mutant miR-374a-PTEN response element (mut-Luc-PTEN) were co-transfected into Caco-2 cells in the presence or absence of fortunellin. Luciferase activity was significantly decreased by fortunellin treatment, and this effect was significantly blocked by the miR-374a inhibitor. However, these effects were not observed when the 3′-UTR of PTEN was mutated (Figure 7A).

Figure 7

MicroRNA-374a (miR-374a)-mediated fortunellin-induced modulation on phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) expression. The cells were incubated without (control) or with fortunellin for 24 h. (A,B) miR-374a could bind to the 3′-untranslated regions (UTRs) of PTEN mRNA and repress PTEN expression in Caco-2 cells. (C) miR-374a inhibitor inhibited fortunellin-induced modulations on MLCK expression. The data are presented as the mean ± SD (n = 3). **P < 0.01 vs. the miR-374a negative control group, ##P < 0.01 vs. miR-374a or PTEN before fortunellin treatment, respectively.

To further elucidate the cellular effects of fortunellin on PTEN, antagomiR-374a was transfected into Caco-2 cells in the presence or absence of fortunellin. miR-374a expression in Caco-2 cells was significantly increased by fortunellin incubation, and this effect could be blocked by the miR-374a inhibitor (Figure 7B). The high expression of PTEN in Caco-2 cells induced by LPS was significantly decreased by fortunellin; however, after cells are transfected with a miR-374a inhibitor, the inhibitory effect of fortunellin on PTEN expression was significantly blocked (Figure 7C). These data suggested that fortunellin inhibited PTEN expression via activation of miR-374a.

miR-374a Antagomir Blocked Fortunellin-Induced Amelioration Effects on Colitis

To further verify that miR-374a was involved in the fortunellin amelioration effects on colitis, knockdown of miR-374a in colitis rats by tail vein injection of miR-374a antagomir was performed before intra-colonic administration of TNBS. Fortunellin ameliorated colitis symptoms, including decreasing macroscopically visible damage, the colon weight-to-length ratio, MPO activity, and intestinal permeability, in the miR-374a negative control group. However, fortunellin had no significant effects on colitis symptoms in rats pretreated with the miR-374a antagomir (Figure 8). These data suggest that miR-374a plays an important role in the therapeutic effect of fortunellin on colitis.

Figure 8

Knockdown of microRNA-374a inhibited fortunellin-induced amelioration effects on colitis symptoms. miR-374a knockdown using miR-374a antagomir pre-injection inhibited the amelioration effects of fortunellin on (A) micromorphology tested by Hematoxylin and eosin-staining of rat colonic tissue, (B) macroscopically visible damage, (C) colon weight/length ratio, (D) myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity, and (E) intestinal permeability in colitis. Data are expressed as the mean ± SD; **P < 0.01 compared with as indicated (n = 10). Data in the sham group is set to 100%; other data are relative values. Fortunellin (L), 20 mg/kg fortunellin; fortunellin (H), 80 mg/kg fortunellin.

Discussion

In the present study, we measured the effects of fortunellin on inflammation symptoms and intestinal barrier dysfunction in a TNBS-induced rat colitis model. Fortunellin exerted significant amelioration effects on inflammation symptoms and intestinal epithelial barrier dysfunction in colitic rats. Fortunellin increased the expression of miR-374a, downregulated PTEN, and subsequently maintained intestinal epithelial barrier function.

Phosphatase and tensin homolog, one of the most frequently mutated tumor suppressors, has been found to be abnormally downregulated in human cancer (38). However, PTEN expression was significantly increased in the colitis model in this study, which leads to extensive intestinal epithelial cell apoptosis in colitis. Results show that knockdown of PTEN expression significantly inhibited the fortunellin-induced protective effects on epithelial barrier function. These data support our hypothesis that PTEN is involved in the protective effects of fortunellin against epithelial cell apoptosis.

The present study found that the expression of miR-374a, which targets PTEN, was significantly decreased in a colitis model compared with the sham group. A luciferase assay showed that miR-374a significantly inhibited the expression of PTEN in Caco-2 cells, which also confirmed that PTEN is the target of miR-374a. Gavage administration of fortunellin significantly reversed the low expression of miR-374a. Gene silencing of miR-374a significantly inhibited fortunellin-induced inhibition of PTEN expression. Pretreatment with miR-374a antagomir partially inhibited the amelioration effects of fortunellin on colitis, including macroscopically visible damage, inflammation, and intestinal barrier loss.

The present study was a preliminary assessment, with some experimental limitations. The expression of PTEN was found to be increased in colonic epithelium in TNBS-induced colitis in this study. In spontaneous colitis induced by IL-10 gene knockout, disruption of PTEN increases the severity of spontaneous colitis (39). The role of PTEN in colitis remains unclear. Compared with spontaneous colitis, chemical damage such as TNBS-induced colitis is associated with intestinal injury and excessive apoptosis, which has been confirmed in our study. PTEN expression is increased in the early stage of intestinal injury (40). We speculated that the expression of PTEN in colitis is related to multiple factors including the duration of colitis, the severity of the disease, and UC-associated colorectal cancer development. With regards to animal models of human colitis, the role of PTEN expression in different colitis models needs to be studied further. Our studies showed that PTEN inactivation decreased cell apoptosis and is involved in the alleviative effects of fortunellin on colitis.

Bioactive constituents from natural sources are more promising candidates for new drug discoveries than specific agonists (41, 42). The flavonoid, fortunellin, is easily obtainable from natural sources, and flavonoids are found in almost all plants. Our study showed that fortunellin administration significantly alleviated colitis symptoms in a TNBS-induced colitis model. Fortunellin both decreased inflammatory responses and maintained intestinal barrier function, however, commonly used therapeutic drugs such as SASP just inhibit an excessive inflammatory response (43, 44). Active colitis is closely related to intestinal barrier dysfunction (45). All these results indicate that fortunellin could be a potential drug candidate for treating IBD. Such data may provide new insights that may lead to alternative therapies to alleviate IBD symptoms.

Author Contributions

DC and HG conceived and designed the experiments; YX, JQ, CL, YQ, LG, YL (Yuejian Liu), JW, and ZZ performed the experiments; YL (Yuchun Li), LW, GW, and CD analyzed and interpreted the data; DC and YX drafted the paper and revised it critically for important intellectual content. All the authors have agreed to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved. The manuscript has been approved by all the authors.

Conflict of Interest Statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.