title: Radioprotective effects of fucoidan on bone marrow cells: improvement of the cell survival and immunoreactivity.
abstract: Fucoidan is a sulfated polysaccharide purified from brown algae including Fucus vesiculosus and has a variety of biological effects including mobilization of hematopoietic progenitor cells. Recently, we demonstrated that fucoidan stimulates the antigen-presenting functions of dendritic cells. In this study, we investigated the radioprotective effects of fucoidan on bone marrow cells (BMCs), which are the main cellular reservoir for the hematopoietic and immune system. To evaluate the effects of fucoidan, we assayed cell viability and immune responses. In a viability assay, fucoidan significantly increased the viability of BMCs. Based on the results of flow cytometric analysis, the increased viability of fucoidan-treated BMCs was attributed to the inhibition of radiation-induced apoptosis. Furthermore, fucoidan altered the production of immune-related cytokines from BMCs and increased the capability of BMCs to induce proliferation of allogeneic splenocytes. Taken together, our study demonstrated that fucoidan has radioprotective effects on BMCs with respect to cell viability and immunoreactivity. These results may provide valuable information, useful in the field of radiotherapy.
authors.affiliation: College of Veterinary Medicine, Cheju National University, Jeju 690-756, Korea.
authors.forename: Yun Young
authors.initials: YY
authors.lastname: Byon
authors.forename: Mi Hyoung
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Eun Sook
authors.initials: ES
authors.lastname: Yoo
authors.forename: Kyu Kye
authors.initials: KK
authors.lastname: Hwang
authors.forename: Youngheun
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Jee
authors.forename: Taekyun
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Shin
authors.forename: Hong Gu
authors.initials: HG
authors.lastname: Joo
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001854:Bone Marrow Cells / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000528:radiation effects*; D016923:Cell Death / Q000187:drug effects / Q000528:radiation effects; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D005260:Female; D005720:Gamma Rays / Q000009:adverse effects*; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D011134:Polysaccharides / Q000494:pharmacology*; D011837:Radiation-Protective Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D013154:Spleen / Q000166:cytology
chemical_list: D011134:Polysaccharides; D011837:Radiation-Protective Agents; C007789:fucoidan