![]() As biomolecules, CGNs have various biological activities, including anticoagulant, anti-tumoral, or immunomodulatory functions 2, 3. ![]() These natural polymers of diverse molecular weights have been used widely as pharmaceutical delivery vehicles to facilitate drug formulation or sustained drug release. The diverse chemical structure and the degree of sulfation divides CGNs into three major polysaccharide groups, kappa (κ)-, iota (ι)- and lambda (λ)-CGNs, which contain one, two, and three negatively-charged sulfate ester groups per disaccharide repeating unit, respectively 1. Thus, λ-CGN could be a promising antiviral agent for preventing infection with several respiratory viruses.Ĭarrageenans (CGNs) extracted from marine seaweeds belong to a family of sulfated D-series polysaccharides harboring α-galactose residues. Moreover, its intranasal administration to mice during influenza A viral challenge not only alleviated infection-mediated reductions in body weight but also protected 60% of mice from virus-induced mortality. This polyanionic compound exerts antiviral activity by targeting viral attachment to cell surface receptors and preventing virus entry. Plaque titration and western blot analysis verified that λ-CGN reduced expression of viral proteins in cell lysates and suppressed progeny virus production in culture supernatants in a dose-dependent manner. No toxicity to the host cells was observed at concentrations up to 300 μg/ml. Cell culture-based assays revealed that the macromolecule efficiently inhibited both influenza A and B viruses with EC 50 values ranging from 0.3 to 1.4 μg/ml, as well as currently circulating severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) with an EC 50 value of 0.9 ± 1.1 μg/ml. The aim of this study was to investigate the broad spectrum antiviral activity of a naturally existing sulfated polysaccharide, lambda-carrageenan (λ-CGN), purified from marine red algae. Influenza virus and coronavirus, belonging to enveloped RNA viruses, are major causes of human respiratory diseases.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |