title: Dextran: Influence of Molecular Weight in Antioxidant Properties and Immunomodulatory Potential.
abstract: Dextrans (α-d-glucans) extracted from Leuconostoc mesenteroides, with molecular weights (MW) of 10 (D10), 40 (D40) and 147 (D147) kDa, were evaluated as antioxidant, anticoagulant and immunomodulatory drugs for the first time. None presented anticoagulant activity. As for the antioxidant and immunomodulatory tests, a specific test showed an increase in the dextran activity that was proportional to the increase in molecular weight. In a different assay, however, activity decreased or showed no correlation to the MW. As an example, the reducing power assay showed that D147 was twice as potent as other dextrans. On the other hand, all three samples showed similar activity (50%) when it came to scavenging the OH radical, whereas only the D10 sample showed sharp activity (50%) when it came to scavenging the superoxide ion. D40 was the single dextran that presented with immunomodulatory features since it stimulated the proliferation (~50%) of murine macrophages (RAW 264.7) and decreased the release of nitric oxide (~40%) by the cells, both in the absence and presence of lipopolysaccharides (LPS). In addition, D40 showed a greater scavenging activity (50%) for the hydrogen peroxide, which caused it to also be the more potent dextran when it came to inhibiting lipid peroxidation (70%). These points toward dextrans with a 40 kDa weight as being ideal for antioxidant and immunomodulatory use. However, future studies with the D40 and other similarly 40 kDa dextrans are underway to confirm this hypothesis.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Bioquímica, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN), Av. Salgado Filho 3000, Natal-RN 59078-970, Brazil. vihcampelo@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Vinicius C
authors.initials: VC
authors.lastname: Soeiro
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Bioquímica, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN), Av. Salgado Filho 3000, Natal-RN 59078-970, Brazil. melo.krt@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Karoline R T
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Melo
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Bioquímica, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN), Av. Salgado Filho 3000, Natal-RN 59078-970, Brazil. monique.gabi@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Monique G C F
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Alves
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Química (IQ), Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN), Av. Salgado Filho 3000, Natal-RN 59078-970, Brazil. mayarajane20049@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Mayara J C
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Medeiros
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Bioquímica, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN), Av. Salgado Filho 3000, Natal-RN 59078-970, Brazil. mlporpino@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Maria L P M
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Grilo
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Bioquímica, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN), Av. Salgado Filho 3000, Natal-RN 59078-970, Brazil. biolottus23@yahoo.com.br.
authors.forename: Jailma
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Almeida-Lima
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Química (IQ), Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN), Av. Salgado Filho 3000, Natal-RN 59078-970, Brazil. pontesdl@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Daniel L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Pontes
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Bioquímica, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN), Av. Salgado Filho 3000, Natal-RN 59078-970, Brazil. leandro-silva-costa@hotmail.com.|Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência a Tecnologia do Rio Grande do Norte (IFRN), Av. Planalto, Km 406-Planalto, Ceará-Mirim-RN 59580-000, Brazil. leandro-silva-costa@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Leandro S
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Costa
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Bioquímica, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN), Av. Salgado Filho 3000, Natal-RN 59078-970, Brazil. hugo@cb.ufrn.br.
authors.forename: Hugo A O
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Rocha
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000187:drug effects; D003911:Dextrans / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology; D000070007:Leuconostoc mesenteroides / Q000737:chemistry; D015227:Lipid Peroxidation / Q000187:drug effects; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides / Q000494:pharmacology; D008264:Macrophages / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D051379:Mice; D008970:Molecular Weight; D009569:Nitric Oxide / Q000378:metabolism; D000067996:RAW 264.7 Cells
chemical_list: D000975:Antioxidants; D003911:Dextrans; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides; D009569:Nitric Oxide
keywords: ">d-glucans; 40 kDa dextran; Leuconostoc mesenteroides; antioxidant activity; immunomodulatory activity; α-