Dietary plasma protein supplementation ameliorates intestinal inflammation in a mice model of double challenge inflammation

Previous experiments in rodents have shown that dietary supplementation with spray-dried animal plasma (SDP) can attenuate intestinal inflammation induced by S. aureus enterotoxin B (SEB). We now wanted to assess whether supplementation with SDP is effective in animals exposed to a double challenge induced by the administration of SEB and LPS. Male C57BL/6 mice were fed diets supplemented with 8% SDP or milk proteins (Control group) from day 19 (weaning) until day 33. Mice were challenged with LPS from E. coli (12.5 μg; intranasal) at day 32 and 6h later they were given SEB (25 μg; intraperitoneal). Twenty-four h after LPS, leukocyte populations in mesenteric lymph nodes (MLN) and jejunum cytokine expression were analysed. The challenge increased leukocyte recruitment into MLN, as well as the percentage of activated Th lymphocytes, monocytes and neutrophils (all P<0.05), which were attenuated by SDP supplementation (all P<0.05). There was also increased the expression of TNF-α, IFN-γ and IL-1β in jejunum mucosa (all P<0.05), which were reduced by SDP (all P<0.05). These effects were accompanied by increased expression of IL-10, TGF-β as well as FoxP3 in jejunum (all P<0.05). Supplementation with animal plasma proteins attenuated intestinal inflammation by increasing the expression of anti-inflammatory cytokines.