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Updated: Jan 31, 2026

In Vitro and In Vivo Approaches to Determine Intestinal Epithelial Cell Permeability
Published on: October 19, 2018
The In Vitro Protective Role of Bovine Lactoferrin on Intestinal Epithelial Barrier
Xiao Zhao1,2, Xiao-Xi Xu3,4, Yang Liu5
1Key Laboratory of Dairy Science, Ministry of Education, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin 150030, China. zhaoxiao1816@neau.edu.cn.
Abstract:
The intestinal epithelial barrier plays a key protective role in the gut lumen. Bovine lactoferrin (bLF) has been reported to improve the intestinal epithelial barrier function, but its impact on tight junction (TJ) proteins has been rarely described. Human intestinal epithelial crypt cells (HIECs) were more similar to those in the human small intestine, compared with the well-established Caco-2 cells. Accordingly, both HIECs and Caco-2 cells were investigated in this study to determine the effects of bioactive protein bLF on their growth promotion and intestinal barrier function. The results showed that bLF promoted cell growth and arrested cell-cycle progression at the G2/M-phase. Moreover, bLF decreased paracellular permeability and increased alkaline phosphatase activity and transepithelial electrical resistance, strengthening barrier function. Immunofluorescence, western blot and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction revealed that bLF significantly increased the expression of three tight junction proteins-claudin-1, occludin, and ZO-1-at both the mRNA and protein levels, and consequently strengthened the barrier function of the two cell models. bLF in general showed higher activity in Caco-2 cells, however, HIECs also exhibited desired responses to barrier function. Therefore, bLF may be incorporated into functional foods for treatment of inflammatory bowel diseases which are caused by loss of barrier integrity.
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