西北农林科技大学食品科学与工程学院王丽英副教授团队在Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry发表题目为“Corn Peptides Alleviate Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Fibrosis in Mice by Inhibiting NLRP3 Inflammasome Activation and Regulating Gut Microbiota”研究论文（玉米肽通过抑制NLRP3炎症小体活化和调节肠道菌群减轻小鼠非酒精性脂肪肝纤维化）。摘要： 本研究旨在探讨玉米麸质衍生的可溶性环氧化物水解酶（sEH）抑制肽对小鼠高脂饮食和四氯化碳诱导的非酒精性脂肪肝纤维化的影响。用剂量为500或1000mg/kg/d的玉米肽治疗4周的小鼠血清和肝脏中的sEH活性降低，脂质代谢增强，脂质积累和氧化应激减少。玉米肽有效下调肝脏中 Pro-IL-1β、Pro-IL-18、NOD 样受体蛋白 3 (NLRP3)、ASC、Pro-caspase-1、Caspase-1 和 GSDMD 的 mRNA 水平。玉米肽通过抑制 NLRP3 炎症小体活化而发挥的保肝作用在 H2O2 诱导的 HepG2 细胞中得到进一步验证。此外，玉米肽还能恢复肠道菌群的组成并促进短链脂肪酸的产生。这项研究提供了证据，表明玉米衍生的 sEH 抑制肽通过抑制 NLRP3 炎症小体活化和调节肠道菌群，对非酒精性脂肪肝纤维化具有保肝作用。研究结果：玉米肽减轻HFD+CCl4诱发的肝纤维化小鼠的肝组织病理学和细胞凋亡Figure 1. Effects of corn peptides on pathological injuries to liver tissue.Figure 2. TUNEL staining of apoptotic cells in the liver.玉米肽降低HFD+CCl4诱发的肝纤维化小鼠血清和肝脏sEH活性Figure 3. Effects of corn peptides on the sEH activities in the (A) serum and (B) liver.Figure 4. Effects of corn peptides on the levels of serum lipids markers.Figure 5. Effects of corn peptides on the levels of liver lipids markers.Figure 6. Effects of corn peptides on the levels of serm and liver inflammatory factors.玉米肽抑制HFD+CCl4诱发的肝纤维化小鼠肝脏中NLRP3炎症小体的活化Figure 7. Effects of corn peptides on the mRNA levels of inflammasome-releated genes in the liver.玉米肽降低H2O2诱导的HepG2细胞的sEH活性Figure 8. Effects of corn peptides on the sEH activity in H2O2 induced-HepG2 cells.玉米肽抑制H2O2诱导的HepG2细胞中NLRP3炎症小体活化Figure 9. Effects of corn peptides on the levels of inflammatory factors in H2O2 induced-HepG2 cells.Figure 10. Effects of corn peptides on the mRNA levels of inflammasome-related genes in H2O2-induced HepG2 cells.玉米肽调节HFD+CCl4诱发的肝纤维化小鼠肠道菌群组成Figure 11. Effects of corn peptides on the diversity and composition of gut microbiota in feces.Figure 12. Effects of corn peptides on the levels of SCFAs in the feces.原文链接：https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jafc.4c04232
