Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of a probiotic microorganism on patulin toxicity in hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG2) cells and established the protective effect of Lactobacillus rhamnosusas mediated by induction of BID in response to patulin toxicity.
Methods: HepG2 cells were seeded in 24 well plates (105 cells/well) in EMEM containing 10% fetal bovine serum for 24 h to ensure cell adherence. Cells were exposed to patulin at 0, 1, 2.5, 5, 7.5, and 10 µM for 24 h followed by treatment with Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (LGG) for 24 h. Total protein normalization and western blot were conducted to determine the expression of PUMA and BID.
Results: After 24 h of patulin exposure, followed by 24 h of treatment with Lactobacillus rhamnosus (LGG), cells proliferation decreased with increasing patulin exposure in samples without LGG pretreatment; whereas, with increasing concentration of patulin, cells were relatively rescued in LGG treated samples. It was further observed that pretreatment of LGG with polysaccharide gums led to a decline in cell proliferation with increasing patulin exposure. Compare to the control, the expression of PUMA increased slightly, by 7%, at 10µM patulin exposure in treatment. However, the expression of BID decreased by 26% in treatment compared to the control showing the protective effect of LGG.
Significance: Our findings suggest that LGG could potentially function as a therapeutic agent to reverse the damaging effect of patulin on the liver of individuals with pre-existing liver disease.