Characteristics and osteogenic mechanism of glycosylated peptides-calcium chelate

Finding effective practical components to promote bone mineralization from the diet has become an effective method to regulate bone mass. In this study, peptides-calcium chelate derived from Crimson Snapper scales protein hydrolysates (CSPHs), and xylooligosaccharide (XOS)-peptides-calcium chelate prepared by transglutaminase (TGase) pathway, named CSPHs-Ca and XOS-CSPHs-Ca-TG, were used to explore the effects of glycosylation on their structural properties and osteogenic activity in vitro. Results showed that XOS-CSPHs-Ca-TG had better calcium phosphate crystallization inhibition activity with more unified structures than CSPHs-Ca, and could effectively maintain a stable calcium content in the gastrointestinal tract. Meanwhile, the glycosylated peptide-calcium chelate could accelerate the calcium transport efficiency in the Caco-2 cell monolayer, up to 3.54 folds of the control group. Moreover, XOS-CSPHs-Ca-TG exhibited prominent osteogenic effects by promoting the proliferation of MC3T3-E1 cells, increasing the secretion of osteogenic related factors, and accelerating the formation of intracellular mineralized nodules. RT-qPCR results further confirmed that this beneficial effect of XOS-CSPHs-Ca-TG was achieved by activating the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway. These results suggested that glycosylation might be a promising method for optimizing structural properties and osteogenic activity of peptide-calcium chelate.