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Updated: May 15, 2026

Assessment of Glutamine as a Fuel Source for Alveolar Macrophages Exposed to Chronic Ethanol Using an Extracellular Flux Bioanalyzer
Published on: November 15, 2024
Glutamine protects intestinal barrier function of colon epithelial cells from ethanol by modulating Hsp70 expression
Reiko Akagi1, Michiko Ohno, Kiminori Matsubara
1Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Yasuda Women's University, Hiroshima, Japan. akagi@yasuda-u.ac.jp
Abstract:
In this study, we investigated the protective effect of glutamine on barrier dysfunction induced by ethanol, by using human epithelial colorectal adenocarcinoma cells (Caco-2). Our results show that addition of glutamine to culture medium significantly improved the disruption of integrity caused by ethanol, which was associated with increased expression of heat shock protein 70 (Hsp70). Ethanol exposure moderately activates heat shock factor 1 (HSF1), which was characterized by increased DNA-binding activity and phosphorylation status of HSF1. Remarkably, glutamine treatment enhanced ethanol-mediated expression of Hsp70 and activation of HSF1. Up-regulation of Hsp70 by pretreatment with heat stress also promoted recovery from the ethanol-induced barrier dysfunction. Taken together, these observations indicate that glutamine protects the intestinal barrier function in Caco-2 cells, in part by modulating HSF1-mediated Hsp70 expression.
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