Recombinant Human Trefoil Factor 3 Ameliorates Bowel Injury: Its Anti-Inflammatory Effect on Experimental Necrotizing Enterocolitis

Aim. Recombinant human trefoil factor 3 (intestinal trefoil factor) has been suggested to be partially protective against necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), but the mechanisms of this protection have not been defined. We investigated whether the protective effects of rhTFF3 are the result of an anti-inflammatory response. Methods. The rats were killed on day 4, the distal ileum was harvested for morphological studies and immunohistochemistry for NF-κB (p65), and the amounts of IL-1β, IL-6, and IL-10 in the intestinal tissue were measured using commercial ELISA assay kits. Results. In the neonatal NEC, IL-1β, IL-6, and IL-10 were significantly higher than in normal group. In normal group, IL-1β and IL-6 were significantly decreased, and the amount of IL-10 was markedly increased compared with NEC group. In the NEC model, immunohistochemical staining for NF-κB (p65) was demonstrated to be of a strong brown color and was distributed in the intestinal epithelium. Treatment with rhTFF3 significantly decreased the immunoreactivity of NF-κB (p65) in the NEC model. Conclusions. Intestinal inflammation was ameliorated after rhTFF3 was injected. rhTFF3 may protect against the intestinal injury of the neonatal rat NEC model by suppression of the inflammatory response.