Description:
<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:p>The prevalence of <jats:italic>Campylobacter jejuni</jats:italic> infections is increasing worldwide and responsible for significant morbidities and socioeconomic expenses. The rise in antimicrobial resistance of <jats:italic>C. jejuni</jats:italic> underscores the urge for evaluating antibiotics-independent compounds as therapeutic and preventive treatment options of human campylobacteriosis. Given its well-known anti-microbial and immune-modulatory properties we here surveyed the disease-modifying effects of <jats:italic>trans-</jats:italic>cinnamaldehyde pretreatment in experimental campylobacteriosis. Therefore, secondary abiotic IL-10<jats:sup>−/−</jats:sup> mice were orally challenged with <jats:italic>trans-</jats:italic>cinnamaldehyde starting 7 days prior <jats:italic>C. jejuni</jats:italic> infection. Whereas gastrointestinal colonization properties of the enteropathogens remained unaffected, <jats:italic>trans-</jats:italic>cinnamaldehyde pretreatment did not only improve clinical signs in infected mice, but also alleviated colonic epithelial cell apoptosis on day 6 post-infection. Furthermore, <jats:italic>trans-</jats:italic>cinnamaldehyde application resulted in less pronounced T cell responses in the colon that were accompanied by dampened proinflammatory mediator secretion in distinct intestinal compartments. Notably, the immune-modulatory effects of <jats:italic>trans-</jats:italic>cinnamaldehyde were not restricted to the intestinal tract but could also be observed in extra-intestinal organs such as the liver and kidneys. In conclusion, our preclinical placebo-controlled intervention study provides first evidence that due to its immune-modulatory effects, <jats:italic>trans-</jats:italic>cinnamaldehyde constitutes a promising prophylactic option to alleviate campylobacteriosis.</jats:p>