Effect L-fucose on the metabolism of peritoneal macrophages of Muc2 −/− mice in vitro

In the development of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), macrophages play a huge role. A widely used experimental model of IBD is Muc2 −/− mice. L-fucose is one of monosaccharides present in a variety of glycolipids and glycoproteins produced by mammalian and bacterial cells. It can participate in signaling processes as epithelial and immune cells. Macrophages and dendritic cells have a receptor for fucose recognition (DC-SIGN, also known as CD209). It was shown that peroral treatment of L-fucose had immunomodulatory effect and repolarized mouse peritoneal macrophages in vivo. Activation of macrophages by L-fucose treatment could be mediated through changes in gut microbiota composition and activation due to microbe-associated molecular patterns containing monosaccharides. Also, L-fucose-and fucose-containing glycans of mammalian and bacterial origin could interact with receptors on macrophages and dendritic cells and activate other immune cells by cytokine and chemokine release. We found a decrease in the amount of CD209 + peritoneal macrophages and an increase in the amount of M1-like peritoneal macrophages of Muc2 −/− mice. We investigated the effect of L-fucose on the metabolic and morphological characteristics of peritoneal macrophages in vitro. It was found that L-fucose treatment enhanced the level of ATP and Ca 2+ production and reduced Parp1, Mt-Nd2, and Mt-Nd6 gene expression level, that may be an evidence for a decreased production of pro-inflammatory factors and differentiation of peritoneal macrophages to the M2 type.