Cytoprotective effects of fucoidan, an algae-derived polysaccharide on 5-fluorouracil-treated dendritic cells

Although chemotherapeutic anticancer agents are effective, they also attack normal immune cells due to a lack of selectivity. 5-Fluorouracil (5-FU) is a representative anticancer agent that induces immunosuppression in cancer patients as a side effect. Fucoidan is an algae-derived sulfated polysaccharide that has recently been recognized as a hematopoietic mobilizer and immunomodulator. In this study, we investigated the cytoprotective effect of fucoidan on dendritic cells (DCs) against 5-FU-induced cellular damage. Several kinds of assays including flow cytometric analysis demonstrated the cytoprotective efficacy of fucoidan. In addition, fucoidan increased the expression of immune-related surface markers on and the alloproliferative capacity of DCs exposed to 5-FU. For investigating action mechanism, the expression levels of apoptosis-related molecules were measured. Taken together, the results of this study suggest that fucoidan, a marine-derived polysaccharide, has cytoprotective effects on DCs, the most potent antigen-presenting cell type, against 5-FU-induced cellular damage. These results provide valuable information to use fucoidan as an immunostimulatory agent for the chemotherapy of cancer patients.