Mitigation of Colitis with NovaSil Clay Therapy

• Published in: Digestive diseases and sciences Vol. 60; no. 2; pp. 382 - 392
• Main Authors: Zychowski, Katherine E., Elmore, Sarah E., Rychlik, Kristal A., Ly, Hoai J., Pierezan, Felipe, Isaiah, Anitha, Suchodolski, Jan S., Hoffmann, Aline Rodrigues, Romoser, Amelia A., Phillips, Timothy D.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Boston Springer US 01.02.2015; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Aluminum Silicates - chemistry; Aluminum Silicates - pharmacology; Analysis; Animals; Anti-Inflammatory Agents - chemistry; Anti-Inflammatory Agents - pharmacology; Bacteria - classification; Bacteria - isolation & purification; Biochemistry; Clay; Colitis - blood; Colitis - chemically induced; Colitis - microbiology; Colitis - prevention & control; Colon - drug effects; Colon - metabolism; Colon - microbiology; Crystallography, X-Ray; Cytokines - blood; Diarrhea; Disease Models, Animal; Disease susceptibility; Feces - microbiology; Female; Gastroenterology; Gastrointestinal Agents - chemistry; Gastrointestinal Agents - pharmacology; Hepatology; Inflammation; Inflammation Mediators - blood; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Mice, Inbred BALB C; Microbiota (Symbiotic organisms); Microscopy, Electron, Transmission; Oncology; Original Article; Phylogeny; Powder Diffraction; Proteins; Ribotyping; Silicates - chemistry; Silicates - pharmacology; Smectite; Time Factors; Transplant Surgery; Trinitrobenzenesulfonic Acid; Ulcerative colitis; Weight Gain - drug effects; Microbiota; Crohn’s; Inflammation; Colitis; Montmorillonite; Cytokine
• ISSN: 0163-2116; 1573-2568
• DOI: 10.1007/s10620-014-3360-7

Background/Aims Five million people currently live with Crohn’s disease (CD) or ulcerative colitis, the two major forms of inflammatory bowel disease. Available treatments frequently result in side effects that compromise the immune health of the patient. Consequently, alternative therapies that cause fewer systemic effects are needed. Dioctahedral smectite clays have been utilized to treat medical conditions, including diarrheal and enteric disease. Herein, we report the ability of a refined dioctahedral smectite (NovaSil, NS) to sorb inflammatory proteins and reduce inflammation in a TNBS (2,4,6-trinitrobenzenesulfonic acid) mouse model of CD. We also investigated whether NS could rescue gut microbial diversity in TNBS-induced mice. Methods ELISA, X-ray diffraction, and transmission electron microscopy were employed to characterize the NS–cytokine interaction in vitro. A TNBS mouse colitis model was utilized to study the efficacy of NS supplementation for 4 weeks. The three treatment groups included control, TNBS, and TNBS + NS. DNA was extracted from feces and sorted for bacterial phylogenetic analysis. Results Results suggest that NS binds TNFα in vitro. In TNBS-treated mice, supplementation with NS significantly reduced weight loss, and serum proinflammatory cytokine levels (IL-2, IL-6, and IL-12, TNFα, IFNγ) compared with the TNBS group. TNBS-treated mice demonstrated a significant reduction in gut microbiota species richness when compared with the TNBS + NS group and control group. Conclusions NovaSil mitigated the effects of TNBS-induced colitis based on reduction in systemic markers of inflammation, significant improvement in weight gain, and intestinal microbial profile.