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1Division of Geriatrics and Nutritional Sciences and Center for Human Nutrition, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri; and 2Graduate Entry Medical School, University of Nottingham, Derby, United Kingdom
Submitted 15 November 2005 ; accepted in final form 14 December 2005
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metabolism; cancer; short-chain fatty acids
Several factors have been proposed to explain the inconsistent relationship reported between fiber intake and colonic disease, including heterogeneity of dietary fiber, use of inadequate amounts of fiber to affect cellular metabolism, genetic differences in risk of polyps or colon cancer in study subjects, and limitations in the accuracy and precision of techniques used to measure colonocyte proliferation (14, 15, 32). Therefore, additional studies that address the limitations of previous investigations are needed to evaluate the effect of fiber on colon proliferation and metabolism. This issue has considerable physiological and clinical importance because of the notion that a typical Western diet, which contains <15 g/day of nonstarch polysaccharides, is considered inadequate for optimal for colonic health (15, 16).
The purpose of the present study was to determine the effect of supplemental dietary fiber on colonocyte proliferation and mucosal protein metabolism in healthy human subjects who had been consuming a typical Western diet, containing <15 g fiber/day. Subjects were randomized to consume their usual diet or their usual diet plus 24 g/day of wheat bran for 3 wk in a crossover study design. Wheat bran was used as a source of fiber, because it results in high intraluminal concentrations of butyrate, which is the preferred fuel of colonic epithelia. In addition, we used two independent measures to assess cell growth: 1) immunohistochemistry to determine crypt proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) content, which provides an index of cell proliferation, and 2) stable isotopically labeled tracer infusion to determine mucosal protein synthetic rates (11, 22). We hypothesized that increasing dietary fiber would cause a decrease in rates of mucosal cell proliferation and protein synthesis.
| MATERIALS AND METHODS |
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Nine subjects (4 lean men and 5 lean women, body mass index 22.4 ± 2.3 kg/m2, 25.6 ± 4.9 yr old) participated in this study. All subjects were considered to be healthy after completing a comprehensive medical examination that included a history and physical examination, an electrocardiogram, and standard blood tests. Subjects with a history of existing colonic disease or a family history of colonic disease, including having a first-degree relative with either colon cancer before age 50 yr or a polyposis syndrome, were excluded from this study. In addition, subjects who were normally consuming
20 g fiber/day were excluded. The average fiber intake of our subjects was 12.4 ± 3.6 g/day, determined by the Food Frequency Questionnaire (Nutritionist Pro 6 software; First Data Bank, San Bruno, CA).
Written, informed consent was obtained from all subjects before their participation in the study, which was approved by the Human Studies Committee and the General Clinical Research Center (GCRC) Scientific Advisory Committee of Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, MO.
Experimental Protocol
Dietary intervention. A randomized, crossover study design was used to evaluate the effect of a normal fiber (subjects' usual diet) and high-fiber diet. Subjects were randomized to one of two groups. Group 1 subjects were given a high-fiber diet, which consisted of their regular diet supplemented with 24 g/day of wheat bran fiber for 3 wk. The fiber supplement was provided as both wheat bran cereal (13 g/day of fiber) and wheat bran muffins (11 g/day of fiber). At the end of the 3-wk, high-fiber diet period, subjects were admitted to the GCRC of Washington University School of Medicine for a colon metabolism study (see below). After the metabolism study was completed, subjects resumed consumption of their normal diet without additional fiber for a 4-wk "washout" period and then continued their usual diet for an additional 3 wk ("normal" fiber period). At the end of the 3-wk regular diet period, subjects were admitted to the GCRC for another colon metabolism study. Subjects randomized to group 2 completed the same protocol, but the order of the high-fiber and normal-fiber diets was reversed.
Dietary compliance was encouraged by weekly phone calls from one member of the research team and by providing each subject with a 1-wk supply of prepackaged daily fiber supplements every week. Dietary compliance was evaluated by a fiber food frequency questionnaire administered before the diets and once during each 3-wk diet period. The subjects were also asked about changes in bowel habits and gastrointestinal symptoms that are often associated with increasing fiber intake (i.e., increased bowel movement frequency, stool changes, or abdominal bloating or cramping).
Colon metabolism study. After completing each 3-wk dietary treatment period, subjects were admitted to the GCRC in the evening before the colon metabolism study. At 1900, subjects consumed a standardized meal containing a total of 12 kcal/kg body wt (55% of total energy from carbohydrates, 30% from fat, and 15% from protein). Subjects randomized to the high-fiber diet consumed their last fiber supplement during this evening meal. After meal consumption, subjects fasted until completion of the metabolism study the next day.
At 0530 the following morning, a catheter was inserted into an antecubital vein to administer stable isotope-labeled amino acid tracers, and a second catheter was inserted into a contralateral hand vein, which was heated to 55°C using a thermostatically controlled box to obtain arterialized blood samples (18). At 0800, a primed continuous infusion of L-[5,5,5-2H3]leucine (Cambridge Isotope Laboratories, Andover, MA) dissolved in 0.9% saline (7.2 µmol/kg priming dose and 0.12 µmol·kg1·min1 continuous infusion in 0.9% saline) was started and maintained for 3 h. At 0700, each subject was given a gentle enema, containing 250 ml of 0.9% saline, to help clean the sigmoid colon and rectum.
Blood samples were taken immediately before the tracer infusion to determine baseline substrate concentrations and background tracer-to-tracee ratios (TTR) and at 1, 2, and 3 h during isotope infusion to determine plasma leucine TTR. All blood samples were collected in chilled tubes containing ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) and placed in an ice bath. Plasma was separated by centrifugation within 30 min of collection and stored at 70°C until final analyses were performed.
Flexible sigmoidoscopy was performed at 1, 2, and 3 h during isotope infusion to obtain mucosal biopsies from the distal sigmoid colon (1520 cm proximal to the anal verge) to determine mucosal protein fractional synthetic rate (FSR) and crypt proliferation. Four biopsies, containing a total of
30 mg of mucosal tissue, were obtained during each procedure. Biopsy specimens were gently rinsed in 0.9% saline to remove any blood and fecal material and were placed in formalin or immediately frozen in liquid nitrogen. Frozen samples were stored at 70°C until subsequent processing.
Sample Analyses
Assessment of leucine TTR. Plasma leucine TTRs were determined as previously described (24). Plasma samples were deproteinized with ice-cold pure acetone and lipids extracted with hexane. The aqueous fraction was dried using a SpeedVac centrifugal concentrator (Savant Instruments, Farmingdale, NY). A tert-butyldimethylsilyl (t-BDMS) derivative was prepared, and TTR was measured by electron impact (EI) ionization gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS; MSD 5973 system with capillary column; Hewlett-Packard, Palo Alto, CA). Ions at mass-to-charge ratios (m/z) 200 and 203 were monitored, representing unlabeled and labeled leucine, respectively.
Intracellular free leucine and protein-bound leucine TTRs were determined as previously described (24). Mucosal biopsies specimens were treated with trichloroacetic acid (Sigma, St. Louis, MO) and ground with a tissue homogenizer in a conical microcentrifuge tube. Intracellular free amino acids were recovered by cation exchange column chromatography (Dowex AG 50W-X8; Bio-Rad Laboratories, Hercules, CA) and dried in a Speed-Vac centrifugal concentrator. The protein precipitate was hydrolyzed in 6 N HCl (at 110°C for 24 h), and free amino acids were recovered by cation exchange column chromatography (Dowex AG 50W-X8; Bio-Rad Laboratories) and dried by Speed-Vac centrifugation.
Tissue free amino acids and protein hydrolysates were converted to t-BDMS derivatives, and [2H3]leucine TTR was measured by EI ionization GC-MS on a Hewlett Packard 5973 MSD system with a capillary column. Ions at m/z 200 and 203 were used to measure intracellular free leucine TTR, and ions at m/z 202 and 203 were used to measure the low TTR in protein-bound leucine (25, 29). All TTR measurements were made using appropriate standards of [2H3]leucine of known TTR.
Mucosal protein synthesis. The FSR of mucosal protein was calculated by dividing the rate of increase of leucine labeling in mucosal protein between 1 and 3 h of tracer infusion by the average mucosal intracellular free leucine TTR during this time period (25).
Immunohistochemistry for PCNA. Paraffin-embedded tissue sections (4 µm) were deparaffinized and brought through descending alcohols to distilled water. Antigen retrieval was performed by heating in a solution of Antigen Decloaker (Biocare Medical, Walnut Creek, CA) in a pressure cooker at 15 psi for 3 min. After blocking of nonspecific binding with avidin-biotin (SP-2001; Vector Labs, Burlingame, CA) and protein (X0909; Dako, Carpenteria, CA) -blocking reagents, the slides were incubated with a rabbit anti-PCNA antibody (1:800 dilution, catalog no. sc-7907; Santa Cruz Biotechnology, Santa Cruz, CA) followed by a biotinylated goat anti-mouse IgG (1:2,000 dilution, catalog no. NEF-813; NEN Life Science, Boston, MA). Endogenous peroxidase activity was quenched by incubating the slides in 3% hydrogen peroxide for 5 min. The slides were then incubated with streptavidin-conjugated horseradish peroxidase (1:1,000, catalog no. P0397; Dako). Tyramide amplification was performed with NEL700A (NEN Life Science). 3,3-Diaminobenzidine (catalog no. D-9015; Sigma) was used as a chromogen to demonstrate the presence of PCNA, and sections were counterstained with Harris hematoxylin. Negative control tissues were prepared in the same manner as that described above, except for the omission of primary antibodies and the substitution of an isotype-matched but irrelevant antibody. Two different samples were examined for each subject at each time point.
Statistical Analyses
The statistical significance of differences in study endpoints between high-fiber and regular-fiber diets was assessed by using a two-tailed Student's t-test for paired samples. A P value of
0.05 was considered statistically significant. All data are expressed as means ± SD.
| RESULTS |
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Increased dietary fiber intake decreased the rate of colonic crypt proliferation (Fig. 1). The fraction of crypt cells that were positively stained for PCNA decreased from 57 ± 3% cells per crypt after subjects consumed their usual-fiber diet to 50 ± 3% cells per crypt after they consumed the high-fiber diet (P < 0.001), representing a 12% decrease during the high-fiber diet.
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Plasma leucine and intracellular mucosal free leucine TTRs were constant, whereas mucosal protein leucine TTR increased linearly between 1 and 3 h of isotope infusion. Colonic mucosal protein FSR decreased from 2.14 ± 0.24%/h after subjects consumed the regular-fiber diet to 1.81 ± 0.30%/h after subjects consumed the high-fiber diet (P < 0.05; Fig. 2), representing a 15% decrease during the high-fiber diet.
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Relationship Between Cell Proliferation and Mucosal FSR
Cell proliferation, assessed by PCNA labeling, correlated directly with mucosal protein FSR, assessed by using isotopicaly labeled tracer infusion, during both regular-fiber and high-fiber diet periods (r2 = 0.22, P < 0.05; Fig. 3).
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| DISCUSSION |
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The mechanism(s) responsible for the effect that we observed of wheat bran supplementation on colonic mucosal proliferation and protein synthesis is not known, but it is presumably related to bacterial metabolism of undigested carbohydrate. Ingesting wheat bran increases the production of SCFAs in the colon by bacterial fermentation. Moreover, wheat bran preferentially produces butyrate, which is the primary fuel for colonocytes (27). Butyrate decreases growth of most human colon cancer cell lines by inhibiting cell proliferation, enhancing differentiation, and increasing apoptosis (10, 12). Incubating human colon cancer cells with SCFAs inhibits NF-
B activation, modulates the expression of cell cycle-regulating proteins, and induces apoptosis (3). In addition, fermentation of dietary fiber by human gut flora produces other growth inhibitors, which enhance the antiproliferative effects of butyrate and prevent chemoresistance in HT29 cells (5). Therefore, it seems likely that butyrate and other product(s) of fiber fermentation account for the effect on cell proliferation in human colon.
We used two independent markers to evaluate cell growth and proliferation to help ensure the reliability of our results. Most studies that evaluated the effect of fiber on colonic mucosa used the thymidine labeling technique to assess cell proliferation. This approach requires fresh tissue and only labels the S phase of the cell cycle (28). In the present study, we evaluated cell proliferation by staining colonic tissue for PCNA, which has the advantages of labeling all phases of the cell cycle, and by using fixed, rather than fresh, tissue (22). In addition, this approach is associated with minimal interobserver variability (20, 22, 31). We also evaluated the rate of protein synthesis in colonic tissue by using stable isotopically labeled tracer infusion to provide an additional and independent marker of cellular metabolism that is associated with proliferation. Several previous studies have used isotope tracer infusions to determine colorectal mucosal protein synthetic rate in human subjects during different physiological (e.g., glucagon infusion) and clinical (inflammatory bowel disease, colorectal cancer) conditions (11, 13, 26). However, the present study is the first to use this technique to evaluate the effect of dietary fiber on colonic protein metabolism. Our data demonstrate that the rate of mucosal protein synthesis is directly correlated with cell proliferation, which strengthens the validity of our conclusions regarding dietary fiber.
We attempted to address some of the limitations of previous clinical dietary fiber studies by implementing certain study design features. First, we evaluated supplementation with only one type of fiber (wheat bran) to avoid the confounding influence of different fiber types. Second, we tried to ensure dietary compliance by providing the fiber source, frequent phone and personal contacts, and monitoring intake with diet records. Third, we used a randomized crossover design to minimize the effect of intersubject variability. Fourth, we used two independent methods for assessing cell proliferation, as already noted. Fifth, we conducted this study in normal human subjects to eliminate the potential influence of proliferative disease on our study endpoints.
In conclusion, the results from the present study demonstrate that dietary fiber can induce physiologically important effects on the trophic properties of the colon in healthy volunteers. Therefore, it is likely that the products of fiber fermentation affect the proliferative zone of normal human colonic mucosa. These findings support the hypothesis that adding wheat bran to a Western diet can have protective effects against developing colon polyps and cancer.
| GRANTS |
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| ACKNOWLEDGMENTS |
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| FOOTNOTES |
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The costs of publication of this article were defrayed in part by the payment of page charges. The article must therefore be hereby marked "advertisement" in accordance with 18 U.S.C. Section 1734 solely to indicate this fact.
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