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Updated: May 7, 2026

Using Caco-2 Cells to Study Lipid Transport by the Intestine
Published on: August 20, 2015
Effect of rhamnolipids on permeability across Caco-2 cell monolayers
Charity J Wallace1, Scott H Medina, Mohamed E H ElSayed
1Department of Biomedical Engineering Cellular Engineering & Nano-Therapeutics Laboratory College of Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 48109, USA.
Purpose:
This report describes the effect of rhamnolipids (RLs), an amphiphilic biosurfactant produced by the bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa, on the integrity and permeability across Caco-2 cell monolayers.
Methods:
We measured the trans-epithelial electrical resistance (TEER) and permeability of [(14)C]mannitol across Caco-2 cell monolayers upon incubation with 0.01-5.0% v/v RLs as a function of incubation time (30, 60, 90, and 120 min). We also studied the recovery of RL-treated Caco-2 cell monolayers upon incubation with Kaempferol, which is a natural flavonoid that promotes the assembly of the tight junctions.
Results:
TEER of Caco-2 cell monolayers incubated with 0.01-5.0% v/v RLs solution dropped to 80-28% of that of untreated cells. Decline in TEER was associated with an increase in [(14)C]mannitol permeability as a function of RLs concentration and incubation time with Caco-2 cells. Incubation of RLs-treated Caco-2 cell monolayers with normal culture medium for 48 h did not restore barrier integrity. Whereas, incubation of a RLs-treated Caco-2 cells with culture medium containing Kaempferol for 24 h restored barrier function indicated by the higher TEER and lower [(14)C]mannitol permeability values.
Conclusions:
These results show the ability of RLs to modulate the integrity and permeability of Caco-2 cell monolayers in a concentration- and time-dependent fashion, which suggest their potential to function as a non-toxic permeation enhancer.
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