The Effects of Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles on Antioxidation, Inflammation, Tight Junction Integrity, and Apoptosis in Heat-Stressed Bovine Intestinal Epithelial Cells In Vitro

Abstract

Zinc oxide nanoparticles (nano-ZnO) have diverse applications in numerous biomedical processes. The present study explored the effects of these nanoparticles on antioxidation, inflammation, tight junction integrity, and apoptosis in heat-stressed bovine intestinal epithelial cells (BIECs). Primary BIECs that were isolated and cultured from calves either were subjected to heat stress alone (42°C for 6 h) or were simultaneously heat-stressed and treated with nano-ZnO (0.8 μg/mL). Cell viability, apoptosis, and expression of genes involved in antioxidation (Nrf2, HO-1, SOD1, and GCLM), inflammation-related genes (TLR4, NF-κB, TNF-α, IL-6, IL-8, and IL-10), intestinal barrier genes (Claudin, Occludin, and ZO-1), and apoptosis-related genes (Cyt-c, Caspase-3, and Caspase-9) were assessed to evaluate the effect of nano-ZnO on heat-stressed BIECs. The nanoparticles significantly increased cell viability and decreased the rate of apoptosis of BIECs induced by heat stress. In addition, nano-ZnO promoted the expression of antioxidant-related genes HO-1 and GCLM and anti-inflammatory cytokine gene IL-10, and inhibited the pro-inflammatory cytokine-related genes IL-6 and IL-8. The nanoparticles also enhanced expression of the Claudin and ZO-1 genes, and decreased expression of the apoptosis-related genes Cyt-c and Caspase-3. These results reveal that nano-ZnO improve the antioxidant and immune capacity of BIECs and mitigate apoptosis of intestinal epithelial cells induced by heat stress. Thus, nano-ZnO have potential for detrimental the adverse effects of heat stress in dairy cows.

Keywords: Antioxidation; Bovine intestinal epithelial cells; Heat stress; Inflammation; Nano-ZnO; Tight junction.