Small peptides isolated from enzymatic hydrolysates of Pneumatophorus japonicus head have protective effects on GES-1 cells against alcohol damage

Abstract Stomach mucosal damage posed a great impact on stomach health and may escalated to stomach cancer. Given that gastric mucosal epithelial cells (GES-1) were the foremost essential part of gastric mucosal defense barrier, their repair and protection were crucial for gastric strengthening. In this study, based on "macro-micro-nano-level" molecular spectroscopy, a multi-scale in-situ analysis approach of microscopic imaging, complemented by cellular biological methods, was proposed to systematically investigate the dynamic regulation of home-developed Pneumatophorus japonicus head peptides (PHPs) on the visual-chemical structure and composition distribution of alcohol-damaged GES-1, and subsequently to reveal the interaction mechanism between PHPs and GES-1 components. The results showed that 3-10 kDa PHPs had superior repair and protection effects compared to gastric mucin, significantly promoted cell proliferation, reduced the leakage of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and increased the mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP). It was deduced that PHPs promoted synthesis of glycoproteins, enhanced superoxide dismutase (SOD) and inhibited production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), thus achieving protection and repair functions on GES-1. This study provided theoretical and technical reference for the development of new natural gastric repair peptide products with high activity in future.