Low methyl-esterified pectin protects pancreatic β-cells against diabetes-induced oxidative and inflammatory stress via galectin-3

Insufficient intake of dietary fibers in Western societies is considered a major contributing factor in the high incidence rates of diabetes. The dietary fiber pectin has been suggested to be beneficial for management of both Diabetes Type 1 and Type 2, but mechanisms and effects of pectin on insulin producing pancreatic β-cells are unknown. Our study aimed to determine the effects of lemon pectins with different degree of methyl-esterification (DM) on β-cells under oxidative (streptozotocin) and inflammatory (cytokine) stress and to elucidate the underlying rescuing mechanisms, including effects on galectin-3. We found that specific pectins had rescuing effects on toxin and cytokine induced stress on β-cells but effects depended on the pectin concentration and DM-value. Protection was more pronounced with low DM5 pectin and was enhanced with higher pectin-concentrations. Our findings show that specific pectins might prevent diabetes by making insulin producing β-cells less susceptible for stress.

was determined by gas chromatography as previously described [23]. The DM value of pectin was confirmed by analyzing the release of methanol by high-performance liquid chromatography [24]. The DM was calculated as the total mass of released methanol (mol) from per 100 mol of galacturonic acid.

Human islet and M IN6 ce ll t reat me nts
To investigate the effect of pectins on healthy β-cells, MIN6 cells and human islets were incubated with lemon pectin (DM5, DM18, DM69) dissolved in culture medium at a final concentration of 0.5, 1, and 2 g/L for 24 h ( Figure 1A). To determine the influence of pectins under stress, the cells and islets were incubated with the pectins for 1 h and then exposed for 24 h to either the apoptosis-inducer streptozotocin (STZ, Sigma-Aldrich) or the proinflammatory cytokines IFN-γ, TNF-α, and IL-1β (all from ImmunoTools, Friesoythe, Germany) ( Figure 1B). All experiments with human islets and cells were performed at 37 °C during this study. For these experiments, the cells were treated with mouse or human proinflammatory cytokines, IFN-γ (2000 U/mL), TNF-α (2000 U/mL), and IL-1β (150U/mL). Cell viability, apoptosis, ROS, NO, and oxygen consumption rate (OCR) were measured after exposure to the above-described conditions. Furthermore, to test whether effects are Gal-3 dependent, MIN6 cell respiratory capacity was quantified in the presence of the Gal-3 inhibitor α-lactose ( Figure 1C). For this, cells were incubated with or without α-lactose (20 mM) (Sigma-Aldrich) 1 h before pectin incubation. For all of the above treatments, components were added into the culture system without medium replacement. Figure 1. Treatment schedule. Cadaveric human islets and MIN6 cells were incubated according to this treatment scheme. When adding the components (pectin, streptozotocin (STZ), a-Lactose, or cytokines) to the culture system, this was done without medium replacement. The former component was present during the following incubation.

Ce ll viabilit y assays
In order to investigate the effect of pectins on beta cell viability, the cell proliferation reagent WST-1 was applied (Roche, Indianapolis, IN, USA). See ESM Methods for details.
One day before the test, 1 x 10⁴ MIN6 cells or 15 human islets were seeded per well in 96-well plates. After the above-described treatments, cells and islets were incubated with 100 μL fresh media supplemented with 10 μL WST-1 for 30 min at 37 °C. The absorbance was measured at 450 nm using a Bio-Rad Benchmark Plus microplate spectrophotometer reader (Bio-Rad Laboratories B.V, Veenendaal, the Netherlands).
To investigate the effect of pectins on beta cell apoptosis, the cells and human islets were stained by Alexa Fluor® 488 annexin V (Biolegend, San Diego, CA, USA) and propidium iodide (PI, Thermo Scientific, Eugene, OA, USA). Briefly, human islets were seeded on gelatin-coated coverslips with a diameter of 10.2 mm (15 islets/slide). MIN6 cells (1 x 10⁶ cells/well) were cultured in 6-well plates. On the following day, cells or islets were incubated with pectins in the presence and absence of STZ/cytokines as described above. After these incubations, MIN6 cells and islets were collected and incubated with 4.5 µg/mL FITC annexin V and 1 µg/mL propidium iodide for 15 min at room temperature.
The staining of human islets was analyzed using a Leica DM4000 B microscope (Leica To investigate insulin synthesis function, islets were fixed for 15 min with 4% paraformaldehyde (Merck, Darmstadt, Germany), and non-specific binding was blocked by incubating with 1% bovine serum albumin (Sigma-Aldrich) for 1 hour. Then islets were incubated for 1 hour at room temperature with the primary antibody guinea pig anti-insulin (Dako, Santa Clara, CA, USA, 1:200). After washing, the cells and islets were incubated for 1 hour at room temperature with goat-anti-guinea pig Alexa Fluor® 488 (Thermo Scientific, 1:400) followed by a 1-minute incubation with (4',6-Diamidino-2-Phenylindole) DAPI (1.0 µg/mL; Roche). The staining was analyzed using a Leica SP8 confocal microscope. Data were processed using ImageJ software.

O x yge n consumpt ion analysis
The effect of pectins on mitochondrial function was measured by the Agilent Seahorse XF24 Extracellular Flux Assay Kit (Seahorse Bioscience, North Billerica, MA, USA).
MIN6 cells (4 x 10⁴ cells/well) were seeded in XF24 cell culture microplates (Seahorse Bioscience) and treated with pectin, STZ or cytokines in the presence and absence of α-lactose as described above. Subsequently, the cells were washed with XF basic medium (Seahorse Bioscience) supplemented with 3 mM glucose, 2 mM glutamine, and 2 mM sodium pyruvate followed by incubation in this medium at 37 °C in a non-CO2 incubator for 60 min. Then plates were transferred to a Seahorse Bioscience XFe24 extracellular flux analyzer (Seahorse Bioscience) and subjected to an equilibration period. One assay cycle comprised of 1 minute mixing, 2 minutes waiting, and 3 minutes measurements. After measuring basal oxygen consumption rate (OCR) for 3 cycles, Oligomycin (1μM, Sigma-Aldrich) was added to inhibit ATP synthase and thus determine the proportion of respiration used to generate ATP. After 3 assay cycles, carbonyl cyanide-4-(trifluoromethoxy) phenyl hydrazone (FCCP, 1μM, Sigma-Aldrich) was added to determine the maximal respiration by mitochondria by uncoupling ATP synthesis from electron transportation. After another 3 cycles Rotenone (0.5 μM, Sigma-Aldrich) and Antimycin A (0.5 μM, Sigma-Aldrich) were added to measure the non-mitochondrial respiratory rate.

Stat ist ical analysis
Parametric distribution of data was confirmed using Kolmogorov-Smirnov tests. Data are expressed as mean ± standard error of mean (SEM). Statistical differences of parametric data were analyzed using one-way ANOVA, while nonparametric data were analyzed with a Kruskal-Wallis test. P-values < 0.05 were considered to be statistically significant (*p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, and ***p < 0.001). The data were analyzed using GraphPad Prism (version7.00; GraphPad Software Inc, La Jolla, CA, USA).

St ruc tural charac te riz at ion of pe c t ins
The structural characterization of pectin DM5, DM18, and DM69 reported in Table 1 Protective effects of pectins on pancreatic β-cells ppm. The OCH 3 peak resides at 3.82 ppm and its integration suggests ~61% methylation.
However, significant overlap of the methyl peak in the 1H spectrum prevents accurate determination of methylation. The poor solubility and high gelling capacity of DM69 prevented the acquisition of a detailed 13 C NMR spectrum, so the 13 C chemical shifts were revealed by HMQC. Table 1. Structural characteristics of the pectins. Degree of methyl-esterification (DM) is defined as the amount of methanol (mole) per 100 moles of the total galacturonic acid in the sample. Molecular weight = Mw. Rhamnose = Rha, arabinose = Ara, galactose = Gal, glucose = Glc, and Uronic acid = UA.

Prote c t ive e f fe c t unde r STZ-induce d st ress
We first investigated the effects of pectins on human islets without any stressor. Pectins did not significantly influence cell viability with any of the tested DM-value (DM5, DM18 and DM69) or at any concentration (0.5, 1, and 2 g/L) (Figure 2A, B). To investigate effects of pectin on islets under stress we first tested the impact of pectins on islet-cells exposed to STZ, i.e. a well-known β-cell apoptosis inducer [26]. Human islets were incubated with 58 pectins with DM5, DM18, and DM69 and at concentrations of 0.5, 1, and 2 g/L for 1 h. To investigate the effect of pectins on islet β-cell under streptozotocin (STZ)-induced stress, islets (C-E) or MIN6 cells (F-H) were incubated with pectins for 1 h followed by co-incubation for 24 h with 5 mM STZ and pectin. After incubation cell viability was determined by a WST-1 assay (C and G). Islet cell apoptosis was determined by co-staining with Annexin V and PI, and analyzed under a fluorescence microscope (D). Islet Annexin PI staining results were analyzed by using Image J gradation analysis (E). MIN6 cell apoptosis was detected using a flow cytometric assay with Annexin V and PI staining (H). Results are plotted as mean ± SEM (n=5). The statistical differences were quantified using one-way ANOVA analysis with Newman-Keuls multiple comparisons test (*p < 0.5, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001). Scale bar denotes 100 μm.

Subsequently 5 mM STZ was added and incubated for 24 h.
STZ significantly reduced viability by 53.8 ± 8.6% (p < 0.001; Figure 2C). This reduction was less when islets were pre-incubated with pectins. DM5 pectin showed the most pronounced protection. It prevented the STZ-induced viability decrease by 38.7 Protective effects of pectins on pancreatic β-cells 59 2 ± 10.5% (p < 0.01) at a concentration of 1 g/L but not at 0.5 g/L. DM5 pectin exposure at a concentration of 2 g/L showed even a stronger protective effect and prevented the decrease in viability after STZ exposure by 46.3 ± 13.7% (p < 0.01). Effects were still present but less pronounced with DM18 pectin which only at 2 g/L significantly prevented STZ-induced reduction in viability by 41.8 ± 9.7% (p < 0.01). Pectin of higher DM, i.e. DM 69, did not show any significant protective effects. The effect of pectins on islet apoptosis was also investigated. STZ at a concentration of 5 mM significantly increased islet apoptosis with 54.8 ± 7.5% (p < 0.001) compared to the untreated islets ( Figure 2D, E). DM5 pectin at a concentration of 2 g/L significantly prevented STZ-induced apoptosis with 46.0 ± 8.5% (p < 0.001). This effect was not observed when islets were pre-incubated with pectin of higher DM or lower concentrations.
Islets are clusters of several different cell types [27]. To confirm relevance of our findings for β-cells we also performed the above-described experiments with a pure β-cell line. Since there is no human β-cell line available that responds to glucose stimulation like in healthy individuals, we used the mouse MIN6 cell line that does respond to glucose changes [28,29]. As in islets, pectin alone did not show any effects on β-cell viability under homeostatic culture conditions ( Figure 2F). However, STZ significantly decreased cell viability by 53.0 ± 1.1% (p < 0.001; Figure 2G), which was significantly prevented by DM5 pectin at 1 g/L by 33.8 ± 6.1% (p < 0.05). DM5 pectin exposure at 2 g/L showed a stronger protective effect and prevented the decline by 40.5 ± 2.0% (p < 0.001). DM18 pectin at 2 g/L significantly inhibited the decrease by 27.5 ± 2.3% (p < 0.05). DM69 pectin did not have a significant effect here. STZ-induced apoptosis in 61.2 ± 6.8% of the MIN6 cells (p < 0.001; Figure 2H). DM5 pectin at a concentration of 1 g/L and 2 g/L significantly prevented STZ-induced cell apoptosis by respectively 46.8 ± 8.5% (p < 0.01) and 53.4 ± 7.3% (p < 0.001). DM18 pectin at 2 g/L also significantly inhibited apoptosis by 45.5 ± 7.6 % (p < 0.01). There was no rescuing effect of DM69 pectin.

Prote c t ive e f fe c t unde r inf lammator y st ress
To determine the role of pectins on β-cell survival under cytokine stress we tested the effects after exposure to the cocktail of IL-1β + IFN-γ + TNF-α, which has been identified as essential effector molecules in the initiation of Type 1 Diabetes [30]. The cytokines significantly decreased human islet viability with 63.2 ± 8.3% (p < 0.001; Figure 3A).
However, a pre-incubation with pectin prevented this viability decrease. DM5 at a concentration of 1 g/L significantly prevented the viability decline with 45.7 ± 8.0% (p < 0.001) and at 2 g/L almost completely prevented the negative effects on viability.
Effects were less at higher DM as DM18 pectin only prevented cytokine damage at 2 g/L significantly with 43.8 ± 10.9% (p < 0.01) and not at lower concentrations. DM69 pectin did not influence islet viability after cytokine exposure. Inflammatory cytokine-induced islet apoptosis is the main cause of islet loss [31]. Therefore, apoptosis was investigated following incubation with pectins and cytokines. Cytokines induced apoptosis in 53.1 ± 5.5% (p < 0.001) of the human islet-cells ( Figure 3B, C). However, the apoptosis was significantly reduced with 43.9 ± 5.8% (p < 0.001) when islets were pre-incubated with DM5 pectin at 2 g/L. Pectins of DM18 and DM69 did not show an effect on apoptosis at any concentrations. After incubation, cell viability was determined by a WST-1 assay (A and D). Cell apoptosis was determined by co-staining with Annexin V and PI. Human islets were imaged with a fluorescence microscope (B) and analyzed by using Image J gradation analysis (C). MIN6 cell apoptosis was detected using a flow cytometric assay (E). Results are plotted as mean ± SEM (n=5). The statistical differences were analyzed using one-way ANOVA analysis with Newman-Keuls multiple comparisons test. (*p < 0.5, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001). Scale bar denotes 100 μm.
Protective effects of pectins on pancreatic β-cells

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We also studied the impact of cytokines and pectins on MIN6 cells. Cytokine-treated cells showed a decrease in cell viability of 57.9 ± 2.6% (p < 0.001) compared to controls. This decrease was prevented by low-DM pectins ( Figure 3D) Cytokines increased apoptosis by 77.2 ± 7.6 % (p < 0.001; Figure 3E). DM5 pectin at a concentration of 1 g/L and 2 g/L significantly prevented this increase with 43.4 ± 8.3 % (p < 0.05) and 63.7 ± 8.6 % (p < 0.01). DM18 pectin only showed a rescuing effect at 2 g/L, the apoptosis was reduced with 51.9 ± 7.4 % (p < 0.01) compared to cells treated with cytokines alone. DM69 pectin did not prevent cytokine-induced apoptosis.

Pe c t in at te nuates ge ne rat ion of fre e radicals
As early stages of STZ-induced β-cell damage are characterized by free radical generation, we studied whether pectins impact the release of ROS and NO [32]. Since 2 g/L pectins had the most pronounced effect, these experiments were only done with this concentration. ROS generation was significantly increased with 41.4 ± 8.4% (p < 0.05) after human islets were treated with STZ ( Figure 4A). This increase was prevented by DM5 pectin with 43.2 ± 6.8% (p < 0.05), but not by DM18 and DM69 pectin. STZ also strongly impacted NO synthesis of islets, which was enhanced with 73.7 ± 5.3% (p < 0.001; Figure 4B) compared to untreated controls. DM5 and DM18 pectin prevented this enhancement with respectively 76.2 ± 5.7% (p < 0.001) and 56.3 ± 7.7% (p < 0.01). DM69 pectin was unable to prevent the NO overproduction.
We also studied ROS and NO generation in MIN6 cells showing that STZ provoked an increased production of ROS with 66.9 ± 4.0% (p < 0.001) as compared with untreated controls ( Figure 4C). DM5 pectin significantly prevented this increase with 50.1 ± 4.5% (p < 0.01) compared to cells incubated with only STZ. DM18 pectin also significantly suppressed the increase in ROS production with 26.1 ± 4.4% (p < 0.05), but DM69 pectin did not show significant prevention. Consistent with the human islet results,

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STZ enhanced NO release from MIN6 cells with 38.4 ± 1.9% (p < 0.01; Figure 4D). DM5 pectin prevented this STZ-induced NO increase with 34.9 ± 1.9% (p < 0.01) resulting in similar levels of NO compared to the untreated control. DM18 pectin also significantly prevented STZ-induced NO increase with 24.8 ± 1.9% (p < 0.05), whereas DM69 pectin did not impact NO release. Elevated intracellular free radicals, induced by proinflammatory cytokines, trigger β-cell death via apoptosis [33]. Therefore, we investigated production of ROS and NO in both islets and MIN6 cells after treatment with our cytokine cocktail and 2 g/L of the different pectins. Treatment with cytokines significantly increased ROS production in islets with 70.3 ± 12.7% (p < 0.001; Figure 4E). Pretreatment with DM5 pectin significantly prevented the cytokine-induced ROS generation, which was similar to untreated controls (p < 0.001). A preincubation with DM18 did also significantly reduce ROS production with 40.0 ± 14.9% (p < 0.05). However, DM69 pectin exposure did not prevent the increase.
In MIN6 cells we observed similar results as in the human islets. Cytokines provoked a significant increase of ROS with 74.5 ± 6.9% (p < 0.001) as compared with untreated controls ( Figure 4G). DM5 pectin suppressed this overproduction with 58.9 ± 7.7% (p < 0.001). DM18 pectin has less effect but still significantly suppressed the increase in ROS production with 26.1 ± 9.7% (p < 0.05). DM69 pectin did not show a significant effect. Furthermore, cytokines enhanced NO release in MIN6 cells with 35.2 ± 6.2% (p < 0.001; Figure 4H). DM5 pectin prevented this NO increase with 31.4 ± 6.8% (p < 0.01), which made the NO level similar to the untreated control. DM18 and DM69 pectin did not prevent the NO increase.

Pe c t in preve nts damage in e ne rgy metabolism
The release of free radicals is often accompanied by mitochondrial dysfunction, which leads to disorders in the cellular energy metabolism [34]. To investigate whether the tested pectins contribute to maintenance of β-cell energy metabolism after STZ exposure, we determined the effect of pectin on the OCR of MIN6 cells, which is an indicator of mitochondrial respiration in islet-cells ( Figure 5A) [35]. As these assays require high cell amounts, it could only be performed with MIN6 cells and not with the rarely available human islets.
STZ has a strong negative impact on the OCR of β-cells, which was prevented by pectins in a DM-dependent fashion ( Figure 5B-E). MIN6 cells incubated with STZ showed a decreased respiration rate, including a significantly decreased basal respiration, which was 46.8 ± 2.4% (p < 0.001) lower than controls, a spare respiration reduction of 23.2 ± 3.6% (p < 0.05), and a reduced ATP production of 53.5 ± 3.6% (p < 0.001). A pre-incubation with DM5 pectin almost completely prevented these negative effects. The mitochondrial basal respiration rate, spare respiration, and ATP-linked respiration values were identical to the untreated controls when cells were exposed to DM5 pectin and STZ. DM18 pectin 64 had a partial rescue effect. Cells exposed to DM18 pectin prevented the STZ-induced basal respiration decrease with 16.9 ± 2.8% (p < 0.05) and ATP-linked respiration with 22.4 ± 4.0% (p < 0.05). The spare respiration was still affected by STZ. DM69 pectin did not protect the cells from STZ-induced respiratory damage. To determine the influence of pectin on cytokine-induced mitochondrial dysfunction, we treated MIN6 cells with the cytokines in the presence and absence of pectins at 2 g/L and measured OCR after 24 h. The culture of β-cells with cytokines significantly decreased OCR, it reduced the basal respiration with 52.8 ± 2.0 % (p < 2 0.001), spare respiration with 53.9 ± 8.0% (p < 0.001), and ATP-linked respiration with 64.6 ± 1.8% (p < 0.001; Figure 5F-I). However, cells preincubated with pectins were protected from these effects. DM5 pectin significantly prevented the decrease in basal respiration with 48.1 ± 3.5% (p < 0.001), spare respiration with 33.6 ± 3.2% (p < 0.05), and ATP-linked respiration with 69.7 ± 5.2% (p < 0.001) as compared with cells incubated with only cytokines. DM18 pectin was less efficient but still had significant protective effects. It prevented a basal respiration decrease of 25.8 ± 4.9% (p < 0.05), reduced spare respiration with 35.3 ± 3.8% (p < 0.05), and prevented ATP-linked respiration decline with 37.7 ± 7.0% (p < 0.01). DM69 pectin did not show any significant effects here.

Pe c t ins rescue damage d ce lls by binding to G al -3
Pectin influences adipocyte metabolism and cancer cell apoptosis as a natural ligand of Gal-3 [16,36]. To verify if pectin prevents STZ-induced OCR reduction through interaction with Gal-3, the OCR was measured in the presence and absence of the Gal3 antagonist α-lactose [36]. Since DM5 pectin showed the most pronounced effect, this experiment was only done with DM5 pectin. An incubation with α-lactose alone did not influence β-cell respiration in normal culture conditions ( Figure 6A-D). The mitochondrial basal respiration rate, spare respiration, and ATP-linked respiration of MIN6 cells exposed to α-lactose were identical to untreated controls. However, in the presence of α-lactose, the preventive effects of DM5 pectin were compromised. The preincubation with α-lactose before pectin and STZ resulted in reduced basal respiration, spare respiration, and ATP-linked respiration, which was respectively 24.4 ± 4.4% (p < 0.01), 19.5 ± 8.2% (p < 0.05), and 31.6 ± 5.7% (p < 0.01) lower than cells treated with pectin and STZ.
We also treated MIN6 cells with DM5 pectin and the cytokines with and without preincubation of α-lactose. A preincubation of α-lactose prevented the protective effect of DM5 pectin on cytokine-damaged β-cells ( Figure 6E). The protective effect of DM5 on basal respiration was no longer present, inclusion of the α-lactose decreased the basal respiration with 56.8 ± 2.7% (p < 0.001) compared with cells treated with DM5 pectin and cytokines ( Figure 6F). The preincubation of lactose did not show considerable influence on spare respiration ( Figure 6G). The rescue effect of DM5 pectin on ATP-linked respiration was fully counteracted by preincubation of α-lactose ( Figure 6H). This indicates that DM5 pectin binds with Gal-3 and regulates β-cell metabolism. dIscussIon Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes are frequently associated with oxidative and inflammatory stress-induced β-cell loss [37][38][39]. Many report beneficial effects of pectin on glucose management, but not much is known about the direct impact on β-cells under stress [6,8]. Previous studies have shown that pectin may regulate the function of Gal-3, which have been shown to participate in cytokine-induced apoptosis [40]. Here, we showed that pectins can rescue β-cell viability and their respiratory metabolism under STZ-or cytokine-induced stress. Furthermore, pectins reduced oxidative and nitrosative stress in both human islets and β-cells. This protective effect against STZ or inflammatory stress was dependent on the DM and the concentration of the pectins.
Protective effects of pectins on pancreatic β-cells

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Previous mouse studies demonstrate a potential role for Gal-3 in anti-diabetic effect of pectins [19,41]. These studies did not investigate the direct protective effects of pectin on islets. Islets are believed to be micro-organs containing several cell types [27,42]. By using a combination of human islets and a β-cell line, we proved the direct protective effects of pectin on β-cells. We show pectins rescue from oxidative or inflammatory stress through Gal-3. Gal-3 is synthesized by free ribosomes in the cytosol but can easily cross the plasma membrane and the endomembrane system to translocate into the nucleus, mitochondria, and extracellular matrix [17]. Since pectin is a macromolecule and cannot access cytoplasm, pectin likely binds with Gal-3 at the surface of the cellular membrane and in the extracellular matrix [23].
The mechanism behind the anti-apoptotic effects may be via three ways ( Figure   7). First, pectin is directly inhibiting pro-apoptotic Gal-3 located on the cell membrane [43]. This binding suppresses related mitochondrial apoptotic pathways and rescues mitochondrial respiratory function [43]. Second, pectin is hampering intracellular danger signal delivery. Gal-3 mediates the ligation of cell surface glycoproteins and increases the affinity of cell binding, which in turn facilitates intercellular signaling [44]. The severely impaired β-cell can generate danger signals that induce nearby cell apoptosis [45]. The binding of pectin to Gal-3 potentially suppresses danger signal delivery, subsequently improving cell survival under stress. Third, another plausible explanation could be that pectin induces translocation of Gal-3 to the perinuclear membranes [46]. This translocation protects mitochondrial integrity and inhibits apoptosis [46]. However, the exact mechanism by which Gal-3 translocates remains subject of debate [47]. Further research will enable us to exactely pinpoint which of the three mechanism described above is applicable to Gal-3 in β-cell apoptotic processes by pectins.
The protective effect against STZ or cytokines is dependent on pectin concentration and DM value of the pectin. The low-DM pectin at high concentration showed the highest efficiency in protection against oxidative and inflammatory damage. The DM-dependent effect may be related to the molecular weight of pectin, which can be explained by differences in the valid binding-domain densities of pectins with different DM values. Considering that pectin is a long-chain polymer, each single chain has multiple binding regions [15]. Although longer chain polymers could contain more binding regions, limited by complicated structure and distance between regions, partial regions in long-chain pectin may not be able to freely bind with Gal-3 [16]. The

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procedure applied for pectin de-esterification results in shorter chains and a decrease in the molecular weight of the pectin [23,48]. This procedure may also liberate binding regions from complicated long-chain pectins and allow them to freely bind with Gal-3.
Therefore, the lowest DM pectin has a maximum amount of freely binding regions per unit mass that leads to a more prominent effect [49]. The composition of sidechain monosaccharides might influence the biological characteristics of pectins [50]. Among the tested pectins in this study, similar sugar composition patterns were found in DM5 and DM18 pectin. However, DM5 pectin showed significantly stronger protection against β-cell damage. This indicates the DM values of pectins do influence the protective ability of pectin. Additionally, it was suggested that the pectin structure present a high diversity according to their different origin [51]. Recent studies of pectins extracted from other sources, e.g. okra, sour cherry pomace, and papayas, suggest the essential roles of pectin's molecular weight and the Protective effects of pectins on pancreatic β-cells 69 2 degree of methyl-esterification on its chemical and biological characteristics [52,53]. The comparisons of pectin extract from different sources may also contribute to a deeper understanding of structure-related biological function.
Our study suggests that low-DM lemon pectins, could potentially be applied in the prevention and management of diabetes by protecting β-cells against inflammatory and oxidative stress. This is, to the best of our knowledge, a new explanation as to why increased dietary fiber intake is associated with a lower frequency of hyperglycemia.
Treatment of intestinal inflammation and tumors with dietary fibers showed that these polysaccharides are taken up by gastrointestinal macrophages, transported to the bone marrow, and subsequently secreted into the peripheral circulation [10][11][12][13]. This indicates pectins can be blood-born, and influence tissue metabolism. The insufficient intake of dietary fibers in Western societies has been believed to be one of the major causes of the high incidence rates of both Type 1 Diabetes and Type 2 Diabetes [54].
Previous studies report beneficial effects of dietary fiber on glucose metabolism, but none of these effects is attributed to directly impacting metabolism or viability of β-cells under stress [6,32]. Our study demonstrates that low-DM pectin plays an essential role in maintaining β-cell metabolism and promoting survival under stressful conditions.
Islet transplantation, a promising treatment for Type 1 Diabetes, which is challenged by oxidative stress-induced islet graft loss, could also benefit from these results [55,56]. As a natural polymer with excellent biocompatibility [57], low-DM pectin could be applied as a preincubation or coating of the islet graft to improve graft survival. Based on its biocompatibility and biodegradability, we believe that the highly abundant and low-cost natural polymer pectin might has a great potential for reducing the expense and cytotoxicity of diabetes treatment [57]. In conclusion, this study provides new insights in how pectin can contribute to maintenance of health. Our data reveals an unrecognized influence of pectin on β-cell apoptosis in the oxidative and inflammatory context, showing to improve β-cell survival through binding with Gal-3.