Fucose ameliorates aging and inflammatory injury by promoting mitophagy

Intestinal senescence and associated ischemic injury are key pathological factors leading to progressive loss of digestive function.Intestinal ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury in the elderly frequently leads to severe digestive and absorptive disorders, along with systemic complications, adversely affecting patients' quality of life and prognosis. This study explored the protective effects and mechanisms of fucose, a key monosaccharide in the traditional Chinese medicine Atractylodes macrocephala Koidz, on intestinal cell ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury. We developed an in vitro oxygen-glucose deprivation/reoxygenation (OGD/R) injury model using NCM460 intestinal epithelial cells and Cajal interstitial cells, alongside an in vivo murine intestinal I/R model, to comprehensively assess fucose's therapeutic efficacy.The results showed that fucose treatment significantly improved OGD/R-induced viability decline in both cell types, and its pro-proliferative effect was confirmed by the detection of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (Ki67) expression.Fucose significantly mitigated oxidative stress caused by I/R, demonstrated by lower reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels, reduced malondialdehyde (MDA) content, and maintained superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) activities.Further mechanistic studies revealed that fucose markedly improved mitochondrial membrane potential and maintained mitochondrial morphological integrity.Fucose treatment notably decreased SA-β-gal activity, suppressed the expression of senescence markers, and mitigated intestinal fibrosis. In vivo experiments further validated the protective effect of fucose, and the data demonstrated that fucose decreased the expression of inflammatory factors and oxidative stress markers in intestinal tissues.This study uncovers the protective role of fucose in mitigating intestinal cell aging and I/R injury, offering a new theoretical and experimental basis for developing fucose-based intestinal protection strategies with significant translational medical potential.