Effect of growth factors, estradiol 17-β, and short chain fatty acids on the intestinal HT29-MTX cells

Peptides growth factors, hormones, and short chain fatty acids (SCFAs) are constantly in contact with the human bowel when secreted by gland or ingested by food, as milk and colostrum, or, as in the case of SCFAs, produced by fermentation processes. This study considers the effect of growth factors, estradiol 17-β, and SCFAs on the metabolic activity and proliferation of undifferentiated HT29-MTX-E12 (E12) cells. In particular, the aim of the present study was the characterization of the human intestinal cell line E12 for its suitability as an in vitro intestinal model for cell-nutrient interaction studies. The effect of insulin-like growth factors (IGF)-I, epidermal growth factors (EGF), transforming growth factor alpha (TGF-α), transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β), estradiol 17-β and butyrate, propionate, and acetate was assessed on metabolic activity and proliferation of E12 cells using AlamarBlue(TM) assay and PicoGreen® assay, respectively. IGF-I and estradiol 17-β significantly (P < 0.05; P < 0.001) increased both metabolic activity and proliferation in a concentration-dependent manner, whereas TGF-α, at the concentration of 1 ng/mL, significantly (P < 0.05) reduced the metabolic activity of the cells. Further, a dose-dependent inhibition of cell metabolic activity was detected in the presence of all SCFAs tested. Butyrate showed to be the most active in the inhibition of E12 metabolic activity and its effect was enhanced by the presence of propionate and acetate. E12 cells, in undifferentiated state, showed to be a suitable in vitro model for cell-nutrient interaction studies, providing an opportunity to examine the potential role of growth factors, hormones and SCFAs in the regulation of the intestinal cell viability.