Introduction: Recent studies have indicated considerable health risks associated with the consumption of artificial sweeteners. Neotame is a relatively new sweetener in the global market however there is still limited data on the impact of neotame on the intestinal epithelium or the commensal microbiota.

Methods: In the present study, we use a model of the intestinal epithelium (Caco-2) and microbiota (Escherichia coli and Enterococcus faecalis) to investigate how physiologically-relevant exposure of neotame impacts intestinal epithelial cell function, gut bacterial metabolism and pathogenicity, and gut epithelium-microbiota interactions.

Results: Our findings show that neotame causes intestinal epithelial cell apoptosis and death with siRNA knockdown of T1R3 expression significantly attenuating the neotame-induced loss to cell viability. Similarly, neotame exposure results in barrier disruption with enhanced monolayer leak and reduced claudin-3 cell surface expression through a T1R3-dependent pathway. Using the gut bacteria models, E. coli and E. faecalis, neotame significantly increased biofilm formation and metabolites of E. coli, but not E. faecalis, reduced Caco-2 cell viability. In co-culture studies, neotame exposure increased adhesion capacity of E. coli and E. faecalis onto Caco-2 cells and invasion capacity of E. coli. Neotame-induced biofilm formation, E.coli-specific Caco-2 cell death, adhesion and invasion was identified to be meditated through a taste-dependent pathway.

Discussion: Our study identifies novel pathogenic effects of neotame on the intestinal epithelium or bacteria alone, and in co-cultures to mimic the gut microbiome. These findings demonstrate the need to better understand food additives common in the global market and the molecular mechanisms underlying potential negative health impacts.