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Anti-inflammatory and Immunomodulatory Compounds from Marine Algae

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A special issue of Marine Drugs (ISSN 1660-3397).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 December 2021) | Viewed by 13745

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Special Issue Editor

Dr. Jennifer McCall

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Guest Editor

School of Nursing, College of Health and Human Services, University of North Carolina Wilmington, Wilmington, NC 28403, USA
Interests: drug discovery; bioassay development; algal toxins and natural products; immunology; inflammation modulation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Chronic and unresolved inflammation has been implicated as a factor or co-factor in a myriad of disease states. As current treatment options are often unsatisfactory for resolving inflammation, new therapeutics are needed to help combat the life-threatening complications due to chronic inflammation. Marine algae have been shown to be a veritable source of novel compounds with anti-inflammatory action. Algae are rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids, precursors to many inflammation resolving compounds. Marine algae also contain a myriad of other structurally diverse compounds with potential anti-inflammatory bioactivity.

This Special Issue will house a collection of research articles and reviews on anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory bioactivity from marine algae. In particular, we are interested in the discovery of new compounds with anti-inflammatory actions, and also newly described anti-inflammatory or immunomodulatory bioactivity of previously described marine natural products.

Dr. Jennifer McCall
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Marine Drugs is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

anti-inflammatory
immunosuppressive
immunomodulatory
inflammation
algae
marine compounds
inflammasome
cytokines
sepsis

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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16 pages, 2541 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Immune Modulating Brevetoxins: Monocyte Cytotoxicity, Apoptosis, and Activation of M1/M2 Response Elements Is Dependent on Reactive Groups

by Jennifer R. McCall, Kathryn T. Sausman, Devon M. Keeler, Ariel P. Brown and Stephanie L. Turrise

Mar. Drugs 2022, 20(4), 233; https://doi.org/10.3390/md20040233 - 29 Mar 2022

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2459

Abstract

Brevetoxins are a suite of marine neurotoxins that activate voltage-gated sodium channels (VGSCs) in cell membranes, with toxicity occurring from persistent activation of the channel at high doses. Lower doses, in contrast, have been shown to elicit neuroregeneration. Brevetoxins have thus been proposed as a novel treatment for patients after stroke, when neuron regrowth and repair is critical to recovery. However, findings from environmental exposures indicate that brevetoxins may cause inflammation, thus, there is concern for brevetoxins as a stroke therapy given the potential for neuroinflammation. In this study, we examined the inflammatory properties of several brevetoxin analogs, including those that do and do not bind strongly to VGSCs, as binding has classically indicated toxicity. We found that several analogs are toxic to monocytes, while others are not, and the degree of toxicity is not directly related to VGSC binding. Rather, results indicate that brevetoxins containing aldehyde groups were more likely to cause immunotoxicity, regardless of binding affinity to the VGSC. Our results demonstrate that different brevetoxin family members can elicit a spectrum of apoptosis and necrosis by multiple possible mechanisms of action in monocytes. As such, care should be taken in treating “brevetoxins” as a uniform group, particularly in stroke therapy research. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Anti-inflammatory and Immunomodulatory Compounds from Marine Algae)

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Graphical abstract

24 pages, 5782 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Molecular Mechanism of Anti-Inflammatory Activities of a Novel Sulfated Galactofucan from Saccharina japonica

by Xiaodan Chen, Liying Ni, Xiaoting Fu, Lei Wang, Delin Duan, Luqiang Huang, Jiachao Xu and Xin Gao

Mar. Drugs 2021, 19(8), 430; https://doi.org/10.3390/md19080430 - 29 Jul 2021

Cited by 17 | Viewed by 2544

Abstract

Seaweed of Saccharina japonica is the most abundantly cultured brown seaweed in the world, and has been consumed in the food industry due to its nutrition and the unique properties of its polysaccharides. In this study, fucoidan (LJNF3), purified from S. japonica, was found to be a novel sulfated galactofucan, with the monosaccharide of only fucose and galactose in a ratio of 79.22:20.78, and with an 11.36% content of sulfate groups. NMR spectroscopy showed that LJNF3 consists of (1→3)-α-l-fucopyranosyl-4-SO₃ residues and (1→6)-β-d-galactopyranose units. The molecular mechanism of the anti-inflammatory effect in RAW264.7 demonstrated that LJNF3 reduced the production of nitric oxide (NO), and down-regulated the expression of MAPK (including p38, ENK and JNK) and NF-κB (including p65 and IKKα/IKKβ) signaling pathways. In a zebrafish experiment assay, LJNF3 showed a significantly protective effect, by reducing the cell death rate, inhibiting NO to 59.43%, and decreasing about 40% of reactive oxygen species. This study indicated that LJNF3, which only consisted of fucose and galactose, had the potential to be developed in the biomedical, food and cosmetic industries. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Anti-inflammatory and Immunomodulatory Compounds from Marine Algae)

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Review

Jump to: Research

36 pages, 1729 KiB

Open AccessReview

Marine Algae-Derived Bioactive Compounds: A New Wave of Nanodrugs?

by Farid Menaa, Udari Wijesinghe, Gobika Thiripuranathar, Norah A. Althobaiti, Aishah E. Albalawi, Barkat Ali Khan and Bouzid Menaa

Mar. Drugs 2021, 19(9), 484; https://doi.org/10.3390/md19090484 - 26 Aug 2021

Cited by 62 | Viewed by 7965

Abstract

Marine algae are rich in bioactive nutraceuticals (e.g., carbohydrates, proteins, minerals, fatty acids, antioxidants, and pigments). Biotic (e.g., plants, microorganisms) and abiotic factors (e.g., temperature, pH, salinity, light intensity) contribute to the production of primary and secondary metabolites by algae. Easy, profitable, and sustainable recovery methods include novel solid-liquid and liquid-liquid extraction techniques (e.g., supercritical, high pressure, microwave, ultrasound, enzymatic). The spectacular findings of algal-mediated synthesis of nanotheranostics has attracted further interest because of the availability of microalgae-based natural bioactive therapeutic compounds and the cost-effective commercialization of stable microalgal drugs. Algal extracts can serve as stabilizing/capping and reducing agents for the synthesis of thermodynamically stable nanoparticles (NPs). Different types of nanotherapeutics have been synthesized using physical, chemical, and biological methods. Marine algae are a fascinating source of lead theranostics compounds, and the development of nanotheranostics has been linked to enhanced drug efficacy and safety. Indeed, algae are remarkable nanobiofactories, and their pragmatic properties reside in their (i) ease of handling; (ii) capacity to absorb/accumulate inorganic metallic ions; (iii) cost-effectiveness; and (iv) capacity of eco-friendly, rapid, and healthier synthesis of NPs. Preclinical and clinical trials shall enable to really define effective algal-based nanotherapies. This review aims to provide an overview of the main algal compounds that are nutraceuticals and that can be extracted and purified for nanotheranostic purposes. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Anti-inflammatory and Immunomodulatory Compounds from Marine Algae)

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