Characterization of Chenopodin Isoforms from Quinoa Seeds and Assessment of Their Potential Anti-Inflammatory Activity in Caco-2 Cells

• Published in: Biomolecules (Basel, Switzerland) Switzerland), 2020-05, Vol.10 (5), p.795
• Main Authors: Capraro, Jessica, De Benedetti, Stefano, Di Dio, Marina, Bona, Elisa, Abate, Ambra, Corsetto, Paola Antonia, Scarafoni, Alessio
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Anti-inflammatory agents; Anti-Inflammatory Agents - chemistry; Anti-Inflammatory Agents - pharmacology; Binding Sites; Biological activity; Caco-2 Cells; Chemical properties; Chenopodium quinoa Willd; Evaluation; food bioactives; Gene expression; Globulins; Health aspects; Humans; IL-1β; Immunomodulation; Inflammation; Interleukin 8; Interleukin-1beta - chemistry; Interleukin-1beta - metabolism; Interleukin-8 - metabolism; Intestine; Isoforms; Mammalian cells; Medicinal plants; Molecular modelling; NF-kappa B - metabolism; NF-κB protein; Plant Proteins - chemistry; Plant Proteins - pharmacology; Polypeptides; Protein Binding; Protein Isoforms - chemistry; Protein Isoforms - pharmacology; protein structure and function; Proteins; Quinoa; seed storage proteins; Seeds; Signal Transduction - drug effects; Storage proteins; Structure-function relationships; Well being
• ISSN: 2218-273X; 2218-273X
• DOI: 10.3390/biom10050795

Several food-derived molecules, including proteins and peptides, can show bioactivities toward the promotion of well-being and disease prevention in humans. There is still a lack of information about the potential effects on immune and inflammatory responses in mammalian cells following the ingestion of seed storage proteins. This study, for the first time, describes the potential immunomodulation capacity of chenopodin, the major protein component of quinoa seeds. After characterizing the molecular features of the purified protein, we were able to separate two different forms of chenopodin, indicated as LcC (Low charge Chenopodin, 30% of total chenopodin) and HcC (High charge Chenopodin, 70% of total chenopodin). The biological effects of LcC and HcC were investigated by measuring NF-κB activation and IL-8 expression studies in undifferentiated Caco-2 cells. Inflammation was elicited using IL-1β. The results indicate that LcC and HcC show potential anti-inflammatory activities in an intestinal cell model, and that the proteins can act differently, depending on their structural features. Furthermore, the molecular mechanisms of action and the structural/functional relationships of the protein at the basis of the observed bioactivity were investigated using in silico analyses and structural predictions.