Dietary 3-Aminobenzoic Acid Enhances Intestinal Barrier Integrity and Attenuates Experimental Colitis

Dietary components and their metabolites produced by intestinal bacteria play a crucial role in maintaining intestinal epithelial integrity. Disrupted epithelial integrity can lead to increased permeability and chronic inflammation in the colon, known as ulcerative colitis (UC), in genetically predisposed individuals. Our data identified 3-aminobenzoic acid (3-ABA) as a key metabolite that reduces epithelial permeability and enhances barrier integrity in Caco2 cells by modulating the tight junctional regulatory pathway. Attenuated experimental colitis in mice treated with 3-ABA and decreased fecal 3-ABA in patients with UC implied the potential usefulness of 3-ABA as a novel treatment target for UC. To clarify the mechanism through which 3-ABA reduces epithelial permeability in Caco2 cell monlayers, we conducted a transcriptional analysis on Caco2 cells stimulated with 3-ABA.