Sargachromenol protects against vascular inflammation by preventing TNF-α-induced monocyte adhesion to primary endothelial cells via inhibition of NF-κB activation.

Vascular inflammation is a key factor in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. The purpose of this study was to investigate the protective effects of sargachromenol (SCM) against tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α-induced vascular inflammation. SCM decreased the expression of cell adhesion molecules, including intracellular adhesion molecule-1 and vascular cell adhesion molecule-1, in TNF-α-stimulated human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs), resulted in reduced adhesion of monocytes to HUVECs. SCM also decreased the production of monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 and matrix metalloproteinase-9 in TNF-α-induced HUVECs. Additionally, SCM inhibited activation of nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) induced by TNF-α through preventing the degradation of inhibitor kappa B. Moreover, SCM reduced the production of reactive oxygen species in TNF-α-treated HUVECs. Overall, SCM alleviated vascular inflammation through the regulation of NF-κB activation and through its intrinsic antioxidant activity in TNF-α-induced HUVECs. These results indicate that SCM may have potential application as a therapeutic agent against vascular inflammation.

Lipopolysaccharide and ß-1,3-glucan-binding protein (LGBP) bind to seaweed polysaccharides and activate the prophenoloxidase system in white shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei.

Lipopolysaccharide and ß-1,3-glucan-binding protein (LGBP), important pattern recognition proteins (PRPs), recognize lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and ß-1,3-glucan (ßG), known as pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs), and subsequently trigger innate immunity. Several seaweed polysaccharides and seaweed extracts increase immune parameters and resistance to pathogens. Here, we constructed the expression vector pET28b-LvLGBP and transferred it into Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3) for protein expression and to produce the recombinant protein LGBP (rLvLGBP) in white shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei. We examined the binding of rLvLGBP with seaweed-derived polysaccharides including alginate, carrageenan, fucoidan, laminarin, Gracilaria tenuistipitata extract (GTE), and Sargassum duplicatum extract (SDE), and examined the phenoloxidase activity of shrimp haemocytes incubated with a mixture of rLvLGBP and each polysaccharide. We also examined the binding of rLvLGBP with LPS and ßG, and the phenoloxidase activity of shrimp haemocytes incubated with a mixture of rLvLGBP and LPS (rLvLGBP-LPS) or a mixture of rLvLGBP and ßG (rLvLGBP-ßG). An ELISA binding assay indicated that rLvLGBP binds to LPS, ßG, alginate, carrageenan, fucoidan, laminarin, GTE, and SDE with dissociation constants of 0.1138-0.1770 µM. Furthermore, our results also indicated that the phenoloxidase activity of shrimp haemocytes incubated with a mixture of rLvLGBP and LPS, ßG, alginate, carrageenan, fucoidan, laminarin, GTE, and SDE significantly increased by 328%, 172%, 200%, 213%, 197%, 194%, 191%, and 197%, respectively compared to controls (cacodylate buffer). We conclude that LvLGBP functions as a PRP, recognizes and binds to LPS, ßG, alginate, carrageenan, fucoidan, laminarin, GTE, and SDE, and subsequently leads to activating innate immunity in shrimp.