Corn Peptides Protect Against Thioacetamide-Induced Hepatic Fibrosis in Rats

Abstract

Certain bioactive peptides are reported to be able to alleviate hepatic fibrosis. Our previous work has confirmed the hepatoprotective effect of corn peptides (CPs) that are prepared from a high protein by-product, corn gluten meal, on acute liver injury in an animal model. However, the antifibrotic activity of CPs remained to be elucidated. In this study, the hepatoprotective effect of CPs on thioacetamide (TAA)-induced liver fibrosis was tested. Results showed that CPs (100 mg/kg body weight) significantly decreased the levels of alanine transaminase/aspartate transaminase, laminin, type IV collagen, and type III collagen in serum and increased the serum albumin levels and total antioxidant capacity. Additionally, with CP treatment (100 mg/kg body weight), a significant decrease was observed in the levels of malondialdehyde, nitric oxide, hydroxyproline, transforming growth factor β1, and lactate dehydrogenase activity as well as the liver index, while the activity of superoxidedismutase was significantly increased in livers. The histological and morphological analysis showed that the hepatocyte structure in CP-treated rats was superior to that of TAA-injured rats, and inflammation and fibrosis were also ameliorated. Therefore, CPs can be used as an option for prevention and adjuvant therapy of liver fibrosis.

Transgenic Mice Expressing Yeast CUP1 Exhibit Increased Copper Utilization from Feeds

“…The feed contained 10 mg/kg content of copper, which is in concordance with the national nutrition standard GB 14924.3–2010 [30].…”

A Comprehensive Review of Corn Protein‐derived Bioactive Peptides: Production, Characterization, Bioactivities, and Transport Pathways

“…The primary structure of CPs can be identified by RP‐HPLC‐MS/MS (Ma et al., ; Wang et al., ). For example, a novel antihypertensive CP from CGM was determined as Ala‐Tyr by amino acid analysis and RP‐HPLC‐MS/MS (Yang et al., ), and CPs with a MW less than 5 kDa were determined by RP‐HPLC‐MS/MS (Lv et al., ). Wang et al.…”

“…CPs with a MW less than 5 kDa have a hepatoprotective effect against tetrachloride (CCl 4 )‐induced hepatic injury in a mouse model via decreasing aspartate transaminase (AST) and alanine transaminase (ALT) levels (Yu et al., ). CPs have a favorable protective effect against thioacetamide (TAA)‐induced hepatic fibrosis by reducing NO and hydroxyproline (HYP) and transforming growth factor β1 (TGF‐β1) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) levels after a 100 mg/kg bodyweight dosage (Lv et al., ). CPs antagonize alcohol‐induced liver damage by adjusting lipid metabolism and oxidative stress, reducing hepatic cholesterol (CHO), MDA, and triacylglycerol (TG) contents and enhancing hepatic SOD, GPx, and glutathione (GSH) activities (Li et al., ; Wu et al., ; Zhang, Zhang, & Li, ).…”

“…As shown in Figure , the hepatoprotective mechanisms of CPs could be explained by their potential capacity to prevent ROS‐related liver oxidative injury via eliminating oxygen, superoxide anion, and hydroxyethyl radicals, avoiding further activation of nuclear factor‐kappa B (NF‐κB), stress‐activated protein kinase (SAPK), and P53, all of which are stimulating factors in the death receptor‐mediated extrinsic pathway (Guo, Sun, He, Yu, & Du, ; Li et al., ). Additionally, CPs have been identified to markedly scavenge free radicals via lowered CHO, MDA, NO, HYP, TGF‐β1, TG, and LDH activities to the normal levels in organisms while restoring the contents of SOD, GPx, and GSH, all of which are known to be potent indicators of liver cytotoxicity (Lv et al., ; Wu et al., ; Yu et al., ). Moreover, CPs could also inhibit hepatocyte apoptosis via reducing the levels of tumor necrosis factor‐α (TNF‐α), cytochrome C, Fas, FasL, and caspase‐3 as well as increasing the Bcl‐2/Bax ratio, the key cytokines, or enzymes in the hepatocyte apoptosis pathway (Ma et al., ).…”

Purification and identification of corn peptides that facilitate alcohol metabolism by semi-preparative high-performance liquid chromatography and nano liquid chromatography with electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry

“…The mechanisms of ALD are complex and could be associated with imbalanced lipid metabolism, oxidative stress, and an increased inflammatory response . Previous research revealed that CPs provide significant protection against liver injuries in mice induced by alcohol, Bacillus Calmette‐Guerin/lipopolysaccharide, carbon tetrachloride and thioacetamide induced liver fibrosis . In addition, a pentapeptide (Gln‐Leu‐Leu‐Pro‐Phe) obtained from corn protein hydrolysates facilitating alcohol metabolism through HPLC–MS/MS was first reported by our lab .…”