Gluten-free diet reduces severity of dextran sulfate sodium-induced colitis in BALB/c mice

BACKGROUNDInflammatory bowel disease is a chronic inflammatory condition in which gut microbiota, intestinal permeability, and nutrition play critical roles.Dietary gluten and its major component gliadin exhibit pro-inflammatory, lipopolysaccharide-like properties that may contribute to intestinal inflammation. AIMTo investigate whether gluten withdrawal, i.e., a gluten-free diet (GFD), attenuates inflammation in experimental colitis. METHODSWe investigated the effect of a GFD in dextran sulphate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis using specific-pathogen-free BALB/c mice fed standard or gluten-free Altromin diets for 4 weeks prior to one-week exposure to 3% or 2.5% DSS.Both Altromin open-formula diets were comparable in total protein and energy content.Disease severity was assessed by colon length, intestinal bleeding, weight loss, histology, and flow cytometry analysis of colonic leukocytes and selected T-cell subsets in mesenteric lymph nodes and spleen. RESULTSFour-week pre-exposure to a GFD led to statistically significant preservation of colon length (P < 0.0001), decreased intestinal bleeding, and improved histology (crypt length and histology score; P < 0.0001).GFD-fed mice displayed a significant reduction in infiltrating colonic lymphocyte antigen 6C + monocytes (P < 0.0001) and increased proportions of forkhead box P3 + regulatory T cells, interleukin-10 + T helper cells (P < 0.01), and γδ T cells (P < 0.05) in mesenteric lymph nodes, and to a lesser extent in the spleen, indicating an enhanced anti-inflammatory immune profile. / 36 CONCLUSIONLong-term gluten withdrawal substantially reduced DSS-induced colitis in specificpathogen-free BALB/c mice.These findings suggest that a GFD may represent a safe therapeutic strategy warranting further evaluation in clinical studies.