Immunostimulatory Effect of Sulfated Galactans from the Green Seaweed <i>Caulerpa cupressoides</i> var. <i>flabellata</i>
Jefferson da Silva Barbosa,
Diego Araújo Sabry,
Cynthia Haynara Ferreira Silva,
Dayanne Lopes Gomes,
Arquimedes Paixão Santana-Filho,
Guilherme Lanzi Sassaki,
Hugo Alexandre Oliveira Rocha
Affiliations
Jefferson da Silva Barbosa
Laboratório de Biotecnologia de Polímeros Naturais—BIOPOL, Departamento de Bioquímica, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Natal 59.078-970, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil
Diego Araújo Sabry
Laboratório de Biotecnologia de Polímeros Naturais—BIOPOL, Departamento de Bioquímica, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Natal 59.078-970, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil
Cynthia Haynara Ferreira Silva
Laboratório de Biotecnologia de Polímeros Naturais—BIOPOL, Departamento de Bioquímica, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Natal 59.078-970, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil
Dayanne Lopes Gomes
Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia do Piauí (IFPI)—Campus, BR 020, s/n, São Raimundo Nonato 64770-000, Bairro Primavera, Brazil
Arquimedes Paixão Santana-Filho
Departamento de Bioquímica e Biologia Molecular, Universidade Federal do Paraná (UFPR), Curitiba 81.531-980, Paraná, Brazil
Guilherme Lanzi Sassaki
Departamento de Bioquímica e Biologia Molecular, Universidade Federal do Paraná (UFPR), Curitiba 81.531-980, Paraná, Brazil
Hugo Alexandre Oliveira Rocha
Laboratório de Biotecnologia de Polímeros Naturais—BIOPOL, Departamento de Bioquímica, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Natal 59.078-970, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil
Sulfated polysaccharides (SPs) obtained from green seaweeds are structurally heterogeneous molecules with multifunctional bioactivities. In this work, two sulfated and pyruvated galactans were purified from Caulerpa cupressoides var. flabellata (named SP1 and SP2), and their immunostimulatory effect was evaluated using cultured murine macrophage cells. Both SPs equally increased the production of nitric oxide, reactive oxygen species, and the proinflammatory cytokines TNF-α and IL-6. NMR spectroscopy revealed that both galactans were composed primarily of 3)-β-d-Galp-(1→3) units. Pyruvate groups were also found, forming five-membered cyclic ketals as 4,6-O-(1’carboxy)-ethylidene-β-d-Galp residues. Some galactoses are sulfated at C-2. In addition, only SP2 showed some galactose units sulfated at C-4, indicating that sulfation at this position is not essential for the immunomodulatory activity of these galactans. Overall, the data showed that the galactans of C. cupressoides exhibited immunostimulating activity with potential therapeutic applications, which can be used in the development of new biomedical products.
