title: Elastin peptide receptor-directed monocyte chemotactic polysaccharides derived from seaweed sporophyll and from infectious fungus.
abstract: We discovered that a seaweed sporophyll-derived polysaccharide of brown alga, Wakame (Undaria pinnatifida) bound to monocytes and attracted them in vitro and in vivo. Physicochemical properties, affinity to a lectin-bead column and sugar composition of the chemotactic polysaccharide indicated this molecule to be a highly sulfated fucogalactan. We then identified the monocyte receptor of the sulfated fucogalactan as the elastin peptide receptor by prophylactic inhibition of the binding and the chemoattraction with lactose and the synthetic elastin peptide, Val-Gly-Val-Ala-Pro-Gly. We assume that the galactose-binding lectin, which is a component of the elastin peptide receptor complex, would recognize a Gal residue of the sulfated fucogalactan. We also observed a similar chemoattracting polysaccharide in a pathogenic fungus, Candida albicans, although the content of it was much lower than in the case of seaweed sporophyll. We speculate that the chemotactic response of monocytes to the sulfated fucogalactan is part of the innate immune system to fungal infection.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Pathology, Faculty of Medical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kumamoto University, 2-2-1 Honjo, Kumamoto 860-0811, Japan.
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nishiura
authors.forename: Kazutaka
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tokita
authors.forename: Yukinori
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kouike
authors.forename: Chiho
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Taniguchi
authors.forename: Masayoshi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Iwahara
authors.forename: Norikazu
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Nishino
authors.forename: Yoichiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hama
authors.forename: Makio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Asakawa
authors.forename: Tetsuro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yamamoto
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002176:Candida albicans / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000276:immunology; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002630:Chemotactic Factors / Q000737:chemistry / Q000276:immunology* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D002634:Chemotaxis, Leukocyte; D005260:Female; D006168:Guinea Pigs; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009000:Monocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D000459:Phaeophyceae / Q000737:chemistry / Q000276:immunology; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000737:chemistry / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification; D011134:Polysaccharides / Q000737:chemistry / Q000276:immunology* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D011485:Protein Binding; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface / Q000276:immunology*; D012624:Seaweed / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D002630:Chemotactic Factors; D010936:Plant Extracts; D011134:Polysaccharides; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface; C054901:elastin-binding proteins