Fucoidan from Macrocystis pyrifera Has Powerful Immune-Modulatory Effects Compared to Three Other Fucoidans

Marine Drugs

Wei Zhang²  Tatsuya Oda¹  Qing Yu³  Jun-O Jin² 

[1] Division of Biochemistry, Faculty of Fisheries, Nagasaki University, 1-14 Bunkyo-machi, Nagasaki, Nagasaki 852-8521, Japan; E-Mail:;Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai 201508, China; E-Mail:;Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, The Forsyth Institute, 245 First Street, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA; E-Mail:

关键词: fucoidans;    neutrophils;    NK cells;    dendritic cells;    T cells;    adjuvant;   

DOI  :  10.3390/md13031084

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

Fucoidan, a sulfated polysaccharide purified from brown algae, has a variety of immune-modulation effects, such as promoting activation of dendritic cells (DCs), natural killer (NK) cells and T cells, and enhancing anti-viral and anti-tumor responses. However, the immune-modulatory effect of fucoidan from different seaweed extracts has not been thoroughly analyzed and compared. We analyzed fucoidans obtained from Ascophyllum nodosum (A. nodosum), Macrocystis pyrifera (M. pyrifera), Undaria pinnatifida (U. pinnatifida) and Fucus vesiculosus (F. vesiculosus) for their effect on the apoptosis of human neutrophils, activation of mouse NK cells, maturation of spleen DCs, proliferation and activation of T cells, and the adjuvant effect in vivo. Fucoidans from M. pyrifera and U. pinnatifida strongly delayed human neutrophil apoptosis at low concentration, whereas fucoidans from A. nodosum and F. vesiculosus delayed human neutrophil apoptosis at higher concentration. Moreover, fucoidan from M. pyrifera promoted NK cell activation and cytotoxic activity against YAC-1 cells. In addition, M. pyrifera fucoidan induced the strongest activation of spleen DCs and T cells and ovalbumin (OVA) specific immune responses compared to other fucoidans. These data suggest that fucoidan from M. pyrifera can be potentially useful as a therapeutic agent for infectious diseases, cancer and an effective adjuvant for vaccine.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2015 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.