Marine Drugs (Jan 2022)

Effect of Fucoidan on the Mitochondrial Membrane Potential (ΔΨm) of Leukocytes from Patients with Active COVID-19 and Subjects That Recovered from SARS-CoV-2 Infection

  • Karina Janice Guadalupe Díaz-Resendiz,
  • Carlos Eduardo Covantes-Rosales,
  • Alma Betsaida Benítez-Trinidad,
  • Migdalia Sarahy Navidad-Murrieta,
  • Francisco Fabian Razura-Carmona,
  • Christian Daniel Carrillo-Cruz,
  • Edwin Jaime Frias-Delgadillo,
  • Daniela Alejandra Pérez-Díaz,
  • Matxil Violeta Díaz-Benavides,
  • Mercedes Zambrano-Soria,
  • Guadalupe Herminia Ventura-Ramón,
  • Aurelio Romero-Castro,
  • David Alam-Escamilla,
  • Manuel Iván Girón-Pérez

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/md20020099
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 20, no. 2
p. 99

Abstract

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Fucoidan is a polysaccharide obtained from marine brown algae, with anti-inflammatory, anti-viral, and immune-enhancing properties, thus, fucoidan may be used as an alternative treatment (complementary to prescribed medical therapy) for COVID-19 recovery. This work aimed to determine the ex-vivo effects of treatment with fucoidan (20 µg/mL) on mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm, using a cationic cyanine dye, 3,3′-dihexyloxacarbocyanine iodide (DiOC6(3)) on human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (HPBMC) isolated from healthy control (HC) subjects, COVID-19 patients (C-19), and subjects that recently recovered from COVID-19 (R1, 40 ± 13 days after infection). In addition, ex-vivo treatment with fucoidan (20 and 50 µg/mL) was evaluated on ΔΨm loss induced by carbonyl cyanide 3-chlorophenylhydrazone (CCCP, 150 µM) in HPBMC isolated from healthy subjects (H) and recovered subjects at 11 months post-COVID-19 (R2, 335 ± 20 days after infection). Data indicate that SARS-CoV-2 infection induces HPBMC loss of ΔΨm, even 11 months after infection, however, fucoidan promotes recovery of ΔΨm in PBMCs from COVID-19 recovered subjects. Therefore, fucoidan may be a potential treatment to diminish long-term sequelae from COVID-19, using mitochondria as a therapeutic target for the recovery of cellular homeostasis.

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