Ovotransferrin
(OVT) has been confirmed to have anti-inflammatory
activity. However, its effect and mechanism on gastric inflammation
are unclear. In this study, the effect and mechanism of the OVT on
the tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) induced inflammatory
response in gastric epithelial cells (GES-1) were investigated. The
enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to determine the
levels of inflammation cytokines, followed by RNA sequencing to explore
the potential pathways of its anti-inflammatory effect, and then it
was validated by Western blotting and pathways inhibitors. Results
showed that the OVT at concentrations of 50–400 μg/mL
displayed nontoxicity against GES-1 cells. Additionally, 100 μg/mL
of OVT obviously reduced the secretion of interleukin (IL)-8, IL-6,
and TNF-α by 63.02% (630.09/1703.98), 35.53% (935.81/1451.43),
and 36.19% (964.60/1511.63), respectively. The results of RNA sequencing
exhibited that the OVT significantly influences the activation of
mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and the nuclear factor kappa-light-chain
enhancer of activated B cell (NF-κB) pathways, which was verified
by the levels of p-IKK, p-IκB, p-P65, p-ERK, p-JNK, and p-P38
protein. IL-8 contents released by GES-1 cells after incubation with
inhibitors of NF-κB and MAPK pathways further confirmed that
OVT hindered activation of these two pathways. Collectively, these
results suggested that OVT was a natural protein with the potential
to treat gastric inflammation.