Glycine has recently been classified as a nutritionally essential amino acid for maximal growth in young pigs. Currently, little is known about the metabolism or function of glycine in the neonatal intestine. This work was conducted to test the hypothesis that glycine has a protective effect against oxidative stress in intestinal epithelial cells. Jejunal enterocytes isolated from newborn pigs were cultured in the presence of 0.0-2 mmol/L glycine for measurements of glycine metabolism, cell proliferation, protein turnover, apoptosis, and antioxidative response. Compared with 0.0-0.5 mmol/L glycine, 1.0 mmol/L glycine enhanced (P < 0.05) cell growth (by 8-24% on day 2 and by 34-224% on day 4, respectively) and protein synthesis (by 36-419%) while reducing (P < 0.05) protein degradation (by 7-28%). This effect of glycine was associated with activation of the mammalian target of rapamycin signaling pathway in enterocytes. By using a model of oxidative stress induced by 30 μmol/L 4-hydroxynonenal (4-HNE), which was assessed by flow cytometry analysis, 1.0 mmol/L glycine inhibited (P < 0.05) activation of caspase 3 by 25% and attenuated (P < 0.05) 4-HNE-induced apoptosis by 38% in intestinal porcine epithelial cell line 1 cells through promotion of reduced glutathione synthesis and expression of glycine transporter 1 while reducing the activation of extracellular signal-regulated kinases, c-Jun amino-terminal kinases, and p38 protein in the mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling pathway. These novel findings provide a biochemical mechanism for the use of dietary glycine to improve intestinal health in neonates under conditions of oxidative stress and glycine deficiency.
© 2014 American Society for Nutrition.