α-Chitin nanofibrils improve inflammatory and fibrosis responses in inflammatory bowel disease mice model

We evaluated the anti-inflammatory and anti-fibrosis effects of α-chitin nanofibrils in a mouse model of dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced acute ulcerative colitis (UC). α-Chitin nanofibrils decreased positive areas of nuclear factor-κB staining in the colon tissue (7.2 ± 0.5%/fields in the α-chitin nanofibrils group vs. 10.7 ± 0.9%/fields in the control group; p < 0.05). α-Chitin nanofibrils also decreased serum monocyte chemotactic protein-1 concentration in DSS-induced acute UC (24.1 ± 7.8 pg/ml in the α-chitin nanofibrils group vs. 53.5 ± 3.1 pg/ml in the control group; p < 0.05). Moreover, α-chitin nanofibrils suppressed the increased positive areas of Massonʹs trichrome staining in colon tissue (6.8 ± 0.6%/fields in the α-chitin nanofibrils group vs. 10.1 ± 0.7%/fields in the control group; p < 0.05). On the other hand, α-chitin powder suspension did not show these effects in DSS-induced acute UC mice model. Our results indicated that α-chitin nanofibrils have the anti-inflammatory effect via suppressing NF-κB activation and the anti-fibrosis effects in DSS-induced acute UC mice model.