Oxidative stress is involved in maintaining homeostasis of the body, and an in-depth study of its mechanism of action is beneficial for the prevention of chronic illnesses. This study aimed to investigate the protective mechanism of yam polysaccharide (CYP) against H2O2-induced oxidative damage by an RNA-seq technique. The expression of genes and the function of the genome in the process of oxidative damage by H2O2 in IEC-6 cells were explored through transcriptomic analysis. The results illustrated that H2O2 damaged cells by promoting cell differentiation and affecting tight junction proteins, and CYP could achieve cell protection via restraining the activation of the MAPK signaling pathway. RNA-seq analysis revealed that H2O2 may damage cells by promoting the IL-17 signaling pathway and the MAPK signaling pathway and so forth. The Western blot showed that the pretreatment of CYP could restrain the activation of the MAPK signaling pathway. In summary, this study demonstrates that the efficacy of CYP in modulating the MAPK signaling pathway against excessive oxidative stress, with a corresponding preventive role against injury to the intestinal barrier. It provides a new perspective for the understanding of the preventive role of CYP on intestinal damage. These findings suggest that CYP could be used as oxidation protectant and may have potential application prospects in the food and pharmaceutical industries.
Keywords: RNA-seq; intestinal barrier; oxidative damage; signaling pathways; yam polysaccharide.