ABSTRACT
Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is a chronic disease characterized by persistent inflammation and pain. Alternative therapies to reduce these symptoms are needed. Marine algae are valuable sources of diverse bioactive compounds. Lithothamnion muelleri (Hapalidiaceae) is a marine algae with anti-inflammatory, antitumor, and immunomodulatory properties. Here, we investigated the potential anti-inflammatory and analgesic activities of L. muelleri in a murine model of antigen-induced arthritis (AIA) in mice. Our results demonstrate that treatment with L. muelleri prevented inflammation and hypernociception in arthritic mice. Mechanistically, the crude extract and the polysaccharide-rich fractions of L. muelleri may act impairing the production of the chemokines CXCL1 and CXCL2, and consequently inhibit neutrophil influx to the knee joint by dampening the adhesion step of leukocyte recruitment in the knee microvessels. Altogether our results suggest that treatment with L.muelleri has a potential therapeutic application in arthritis treatment.
Subject(s)
Arthritis, Experimental/pathology , Inflammation/pathology , Nociception , Rhodophyta/chemistry , Analgesics/pharmacology , Analgesics/therapeutic use , Animals , Anti-Inflammatory Agents/pharmacology , Anti-Inflammatory Agents/therapeutic use , Arthritis, Experimental/drug therapy , Calcium Carbonate/chemistry , Cell Adhesion/drug effects , Endothelial Cells/drug effects , Endothelial Cells/pathology , Flow Cytometry , Joints/blood supply , Joints/drug effects , Joints/pathology , Leukocytes/drug effects , Leukocytes/pathology , Lymph Nodes/drug effects , Lymph Nodes/pathology , Male , Mice, Inbred C57BL , Nociception/drug effects , Polysaccharides/chemistry , Synovial Membrane/blood supply , Synovial Membrane/drug effects , Synovial Membrane/pathologyABSTRACT
We report herein the chemical characterization and antiherpes activity of polysaccharides from the red alga Lithothamnion muelleri (Hapalidiaceae). The polysaccharide-rich fractions B1 and B2 were obtained by extraction with Na2CO3 and were purified by size exclusion chromatography to afford Fra-B1 and Fra-B2. The polysaccharides were characterized by FT-IR and chemical analysis (total contents of carbohydrates, proteins, sulfate and uronic acid), whereas their average molecular weights were estimated by high performance gel permeation chromatography. The monosaccharide analysis detected galactose, glucose, xylose, mannose, rhamnose and arabinose in the four polysaccharide samples. Antiherpetic in vitro assays showed that B1 and B2 inhibited Herpes Simplex Virus types 1 and 2 (HSV-1 and HSV-2) when added simultaneously to viral infection affording selectivity indices (SI=CC50/EC50) higher than 20. Investigation of the mechanism of action indicated that B1 and B2 act on the initial steps of HSV replication, mainly inhibiting viral adsorption but also viral penetration into the cells.
