Chemical Characterization, Antitumor, and Immune-Enhancing Activities of Polysaccharide from Sargassum pallidum

• Published in: Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) Vol. 26; no. 24; p. 7559
• Main Authors: Gao, Yi, Li, Yizhen, Niu, Yunze, Ju, Hao, Chen, Ran, Li, Bin, Song, Xiyun, Song, Lin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 13.12.2021; MDPI
• Subjects: A549 Cells; Animals; Antineoplastic Agents - chemistry; Antineoplastic Agents - pharmacology; Antitumor activity; Apoptosis; Apoptosis - drug effects; Biological activity; Cancer; Cancer research; Cancer therapies; Carbohydrates; Cell proliferation; Cellular stress response; Cytokines; Drug Screening Assays, Antitumor; Fourier analysis; Fourier transforms; Fractions; Hep G2 Cells; Humans; IL-1β; Immune system; immune-enhancing activity; Immunomodulating Agents - chemistry; Immunomodulating Agents - pharmacology; Immunotherapy; Infrared analysis; Infrared spectroscopy; Interleukin 6; Lymphocytes; Melanoma, Experimental - drug therapy; Melanoma, Experimental - metabolism; Mice; Monosaccharides; Natural products; Nitric-oxide synthase; NMR; Nuclear magnetic resonance; Physicochemical properties; Polysaccharides; Purification; Saccharides; Sargassum - chemistry; Sargassum pallidum; seaweed; Spectrum analysis; Thyroid gland; Transcriptomes; Tumor necrosis factor-α; Tumors; polysaccharides; seaweed; Sargassum pallidum; immune-enhancing activity; antitumor activity
• ISSN: 1420-3049; 1420-3049
• DOI: 10.3390/molecules26247559

Searching for natural products with antitumor and immune-enhancing activities is an important aspect of cancer research. is an edible brown alga that has been used in Chinese traditional medicine for the treatment of tumors. However, the purification and application of its active components are still insufficient. In the present study, the polysaccharides from (SPPs) with antitumor and immune-enhancing activities were isolated and purified, and five polysaccharide fractions (SPP-0.3, SPP-0.5, SPP-0.7, SPP-1, and SPP-2) were obtained. The ratio of total saccharides, monosaccharide composition, and sulfated contents was determined, and their structures were analyzed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Moreover, bioactivity analysis showed that all five fractions had significant antitumor activity against three types of cancer cells (A549, HepG2, and B16), and can induce cancer cell apoptosis. In addition, the results indicated that SPPs can enhance the proliferation of immune cells and improve the expression levels of serum cytokines (IL-6, IL-1β, iNOS, and TNF-α). SPP-0.7 was identified as the most active fraction and selected for further purification, and its physicochemical properties and antitumor mechanism were further analyzed. Transcriptome sequencing result showed that SPP-0.7 can significantly induce the cell apoptosis, cytokine secretion, and cellular stress response process, and inhibit the normal physiological processes of cancer cells. Overall, SPPs and SPP-0.7 may be suitable for use as potential candidate agents for cancer therapy.