Background
Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is often associated with exaggerated activation of inflammatory response. Astaxanthin has been shown in studies to have a positive and advantageous effect on anti-inflammatory response. Hence, it is of great significance to study the protective effect of astaxanthin in NEC disease and its molecular mechanism.
Conclusion
The present study indicated that astaxanthin alleviated oxidative stress, inflammatory response, and apoptosis in NEC rats by enhancing NOD2 and inhibiting TLR4 pathway.
Objective
The present study was to investigate whether astaxanthin attenuates NEC rats and to explore its potential mechanism. Material and
Results
Astaxanthin improved the pathological changes of the intestinal tissues. It restrained inflammation, oxidative stress, and protected cells from apoptosis in the intestinal tissue and serum of the NEC rats. Moreover, astaxanthin enhanced NOD2, whereas it suppressed toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) pathway-related proteins. Apart from that, the NOD2 inhibitor offset the protective effect of the astaxanthin towards the NEC rats.