Glutamine pretreatment reduces IL-8 production in human intestinal epithelial cells by limiting IkappaBalpha ubiquitination.

Glutamine, the most abundant amino acid in the human body, plays several important roles in the intestine. Recent studies showed that glutamine regulates protein metabolism and intestinal inflammation among other mechanisms by reducing proinflammatory cytokine release. Because regulation of the inflammatory response was shown to be linked to proteolysis regulation, we hypothesized that glutamine pretreatment could act on IL-8 production in human intestinal epithelial cells through the regulation of inhibitor kappaB (IkappaB) ubiquitination.