Dietary Lipids And Curcumin Interact To Affect Gene Expression In A Mouse Model Of Dss Induced Chronic Colitis

Both fish oil (FO) and curcumin have potential as anti‐tumor and anti‐inflammatory agents. To explore their combined effects on dextran sodium sulphate (DSS) induced colitis, C57BL/6 mice were randomized to four diets (2x2 design) differing in the type of fat with or without curcumin supplementation (FO, FO+2% curcumin, corn oil (control, CO) or CO+2% curcumin). Following 2 cycle DSS exposure to induce chronic intestinal inflammation, addition of curcumin promoted mucosal injury/ulceration only in CO fed mice. Compared to other diets, interaction of FO and curcumin enhanced the resolution of chronic inflammation and suppressed (p<0.05) a key inflammatory mediator, NF‐kB, in colon mucosa. Examination of global gene expression profiles revealed that FO and curcumin combination blocked the expression of 38 genes induced by DSS treatment. Select genes represent non‐classical mediators of inflammation including ZBP1, PTHrP, Onecut2, Htra3, CCK, ZPF185, CSTAD and Syt15. These results suggest that dietary lipids and curcumin interact to regulate mucosal homeostasis to modulate chronic inflammation in the colon. Grant Funding Source: NIH grants DK071707 and P30ES09106.