Protective effects of carotenoid fucoxanthin in fibroblasts cellular senescence

Fucoxanthin, as a main marine carotenoid, exhibit a wide variety of bioactivities, including antioxidant activity. Previously, we have shown the geroprotective activity of fucoxanthin on Drosophila and C. elegans. Our new study aimed to compare the antioxidant activity of fucoxanthin in early and late passage normal human cells LECh4(81) in physiological conditions and under oxidative stress. In addition, using the RNA-seq we have analyzed the transcriptomic changes during the replicative senescence of fibroblasts treated with fucoxanthin. Results showed that fucoxanthin at a concentration of 5 μM caused the most pronounced antioxidant effect in the late passage cells. Moreover, transcriptomic data showed the increased expression levels of genes related to the Nrf2/ARE pathway. According to the analysis of enriched KEGG pathways, fucoxanthin altered cellular processes like ribosome biogenesis, lipid metabolism, and cell cycle regulation including some age-related pathways such as Wnt, JAK-STAT, and FoxO signaling pathways. We suggest that fucoxanthin may have therapeutic potential for treating age-related diseases.