Soluble eggshell membrane protein-loaded chitosan/fucoidan nanoparticles for treatment of defective intestinal epithelial cells

Soluble eggshell membrane protein (SEP) and polysaccharides extracted from algae exhibited immunomodulatory, presenting a potential for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) treatment. However, the bioavailability of proteins is limited because of harsh gastrointestinal pH environment, enzymatic degradation and limitation of intestinal epithelial transport. This study investigates the release of SEP from chitosan/fucoidan nanoparticles (CS/F NPs) and evaluates the protective effect of released SEP on intestinal epithelial cells (IECs) damage. The SEP was successfully extracted and encapsulated by CS/F NPs. When the SEP/CS/F weight ratio was 0.2/3/1, the NPs were spherical with 100 nm in diameter and 10 mV in zeta potential. The NPs were stable in simulated gastric acid (pH = 1.2), and released 50% of SEP when disintegrated in imitating intestinal environment (pH = 7.4). The SEP-CS/F NPs had good biocompatibility and presented high antioxidant activities. Using co-culture Caco-2 and RAW264.7 cells for immunomodulatory assessment, the SEP-CS/F NPs effectively reduced the amount of NO and inhibited the TNF-α and IL-6 production. Moreover, the SEP-CS/F NPs could protect the IECs from disruption caused by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) evidenced by measuring the transepithelial electrical resistance and paracellular permeability of fluorescein isothiocyanate-dextran. Briefly, the CS/F NPs are potential carriers for SEP delivery to ameliorate LPS-induced intestinal epithelial inflammation.