In Vitro Study of the Therapeutic Potential of Brown Crude Fucoidans in Osteoarthritis Treatment

• Published in: International journal of molecular sciences Vol. 23; no. 22; p. 14236
• Main Authors: Vaamonde-García, Carlos, Capelo-Mera, Emma, Flórez-Fernández, Noelia, Torres, María Dolores, Rivas-Murias, Beatriz, Mejide-Faílde, Rosa, Blanco, Francisco J, Domínguez, Herminia
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 17.11.2022; MDPI
• Subjects: Algae; Anti-Inflammatory Agents; Antioxidants; Arthritis; Cartilage; Cell cycle; Cell proliferation; Cell viability; Chondrocytes; crude fucoidans; Cytokines; Etoposide; Fourier transforms; Fucoidan; GA-binding protein; Galactosidase; Gene expression; hemeoxygenase 1; Humans; IL-1β; Inflammation; Infrared spectroscopy; Interleukin 6; Interleukin 8; Morphology; NMR; Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs; nuclear factor-erythroid 2-related factor; Nuclear magnetic resonance; Osteoarthritis; Osteoarthritis - drug therapy; Osteoarthritis - pathology; Oxidative stress; Pathogenesis; Polysaccharides - chemistry; Polysaccharides - pharmacology; proinflammatory cytokines; Rheumatic diseases; Scanning electron microscopy; Seaweeds; Senescence; Size exclusion chromatography; Spectrum analysis; Statistical analysis; Tumor necrosis factor-TNF; Ultrasonic imaging; Undaria; β-Galactosidase; United States > US; senescence; proinflammatory cytokines; chondrocytes; crude fucoidans; osteoarthritis; reactive oxygen species; nuclear factor-erythroid 2-related factor; hemeoxygenase 1
• ISSN: 1422-0067; 1661-6596; 1422-0067
• DOI: 10.3390/ijms232214236

Osteoarthritis, one of the most common joint degenerative pathologies, still has no cure, and current treatments, such as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, can cause serious adverse effects when taken for a long time. Brown seaweed crude fucoidans are used for the clinical treatment of several pathologies. In this study, the therapeutical potential of these biocompounds was analyzed in primary chondrocytes and the 260TT human chondrocyte cell line. Crude fucoidan from (Up) and (Sm) was obtained by different extraction techniques (microwave-assisted extraction, pressurized hot-water extraction, ultrasound-assisted extraction) and chemically and structurally characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, high-performance size-exclusion chromatography, proton nuclear magnetic resonance, and scanning electron microscopy. Once cell viability was confirmed in chondrocytes treated with crude fucoidans, we evaluated their anti-inflammatory effects, observing a significant reduction in IL-6 production stimulated by IL-1β. Findings were confirmed by analysis of IL-6 and IL-8 gene expression, although only fucoidans from Up achieved a statistically significant reduction. Besides this, the antioxidant capacity of crude fucoidans was observed through the upregulation of Nrf-2 levels and the expression of its transcriptional target genes HO-1 and SOD-2, with compounds from Up again showing a more consistent effect. However, no evidence was found that crude fucoidans modulate senescence, as they failed to reduced β-galactosidase activity, cell proliferation, or IL-6 production in chondrocytes stimulated with etoposide. Thus, the findings of this research seem to indicate that the tested crude fucoidans are capable of partially alleviating OA-associated inflammation and oxidative stress, but fail to attenuate chondrocyte senescence.