Effect of Sulfated Polysaccharides from Brown Algae on Apoptosis of Human Peripheral Blood Lymphocytes

We studied the influence of fucoidans from brown algae Fucus evanescens, Laminaria cichorioides and Laminaria japonica on apoptosis of human peripheral blood lymphocytes. It was demonstrated that fucoidans induced lymphocyte apoptosis, increased the proportion of cells with low mitochondrial transmembrane potential, and inhibit expression of Bcl-xL gene in blood lymphocytes. These findings suggest that lymphocyte apoptosis induced by the analyzed sulfated polysaccharides is mediated by mitochondrial pathway.