Immunostimulatory effects of fucoidan on bone marrow-derived dendritic cells

Abstract Fucoidan is a polysaccharide purified from the brown seaweed Fucus vesiculosus . Although some effects of fucoidan on immune functions have been elucidated, there have been no studies concerning the immunomodulatory effects of fucoidan on dendritic cells (DCs), which are powerful antigen-presenting cells. In this study, fucoidan increased the viability of DCs, the production of interleukin-12 and tumor necrosis factor-α, and the expression of major histocompatibility complex class I, class II, CD54, and CD86 molecules. Furthermore, fucoidan-treated DCs showed decreased antigen uptake and increased proliferation of allogeneic splenocytes. In a study of the transcriptional regulation effects of fucoidan, translocation of p65 molecules of nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) from the cytosol to the nucleus was clearly observed in fucoidan-treated DCs. Taken together, the results suggest that fucoidan has immunostimulating and maturing effects on DCs, via a pathway involving at least NF-κB.