Institute for Microbiology, Infectious Diseases and Immunology, Gastrointestinal Microbiology Research Group, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany.
Institute for Food Quality and Food Safety, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Hannover, Germany.
Sci Rep. 2020 Feb 19;10(1):2921. doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-59890-8.
Human foodborne infections with the zoonotic pathogen Campylobacter jejuni are on the rise and constitute a significant socioeconomic burden worldwide. The health-beneficial, particularly anti-inflammatory effects of vitamin C (ascorbate) are well known. In our preclinical intervention study, we assessed potential anti-pathogenic and immunomodulatory effects of ascorbate in C. jejuni-infected secondary abiotic IL-10 mice developing acute campylobacteriosis similar to humans. Starting 4 days prior peroral C. jejuni-infection, mice received synthetic ascorbate via the drinking water until the end of the experiment. At day 6 post-infection, ascorbate-treated mice harbored slightly lower colonic pathogen loads and suffered from less severe C. jejuni-induced enterocolitis as compared to placebo control animals. Ascorbate treatment did not only alleviate macroscopic sequelae of infection, but also dampened apoptotic and inflammatory immune cell responses in the intestines that were accompanied by less pronounced pro-inflammatory cytokine secretion. Remarkably, the anti-inflammatory effects of ascorbate pretreatment in C. jejuni-infected mice were not restricted to the intestinal tract but could also be observed in extra-intestinal compartments including liver, kidneys and lungs. In conclusion, due to the potent anti-inflammatory effects observed in the clinical murine C. jejuni-infection model, ascorbate constitutes a promising novel option for prophylaxis and treatment of acute campylobacteriosis.
人食源感染动物源致病菌空肠弯曲菌呈上升趋势，在全球范围内造成了重大的社会经济负担。众所周知，维生素 C（抗坏血酸）具有有益健康的作用，特别是抗炎作用。在我们的临床前干预研究中，我们评估了抗坏血酸在继发于无生命的 IL-10 小鼠中的抗病原体和免疫调节作用，这些小鼠类似于人类，会发展为急性弯曲菌病。从口服空肠弯曲菌感染前 4 天开始，通过饮用水给予合成抗坏血酸，直至实验结束。感染后第 6 天，与安慰剂对照动物相比，抗坏血酸治疗组的小鼠结肠病原体负荷略低，且感染引起的回肠炎较轻。抗坏血酸治疗不仅减轻了感染的宏观后遗症，还抑制了肠道中凋亡和炎症免疫细胞反应，伴随促炎细胞因子分泌减少。值得注意的是，抗坏血酸预处理在空肠弯曲菌感染小鼠中的抗炎作用不仅局限于肠道，还可以在包括肝、肾和肺在内的肠外部位观察到。总之，由于在临床小鼠空肠弯曲菌感染模型中观察到了强大的抗炎作用，抗坏血酸构成了预防和治疗急性弯曲菌病的有希望的新选择。
