Effects of Spermidine on Cell Proliferation, Migration, and Inflammatory Response in Porcine (pig) Enterocytes

The primary purpose of this 2022 study by Wei et al was to investigate the effect of spermidine on the proliferation, migration, and inflammatory response of pig intestinal epithelial cells and to detect the role of spermidine in mediating the physiological functions of putrescine. Previous studies found that putrescine increased the proliferation and migration of the porcine intestinal epithelial cells (IPEC-J2) and mitigated mucosal atrophy of the small intestine by suppressing inflammatory responses in weanling piglets. Still, it is unknown whether putrescine must be metabolized to spermidine to exert its effects. Their results indicate that spermidine played a vital role in regulating the proliferation of porcine intestinal epithelial cells, the metabolism of putrescine to spermidine was essential for putrescine to perform its functions, and this beneficial effect of spermidine and putrescine was at least partly mediated by the activation of the ERK1/2 pathway. Further, the rate of scratch wound closure of mouse embryo fibroblasts is significantly improved in the presence of spermidine but not putrescine. Therefore, exogenous spermidine supplementation may constitute an attractive strategy to improve intestinal health and treat inflammation-related diseases.