Integrating Blood Biomarkers and Marine Brown Algae-Derived Inhibitors in Parkinson's Disease: A Multi-scale Approach from Interactomics to Quantum Mechanics

Parkinson's disease (PD) involves alpha-synuclein accumulation according to Braak's pattern, with diverse clinical progressions that complicate diagnosis and treatment. We aimed to correlate Braak's pattern with rapid progressive PD to identify blood-based biomarkers and therapeutic targets exploiting brown algae-derived bioactives for potential treatment. We implemented a systematic workflow of transcriptomic profiling, co-expression networks, cluster profiling, transcriptional regulator identification, molecular docking, quantum calculations, and dynamic simulations. The transcriptomic analyses exhibited highly expressed genes at each Braak's stage and in rapidly progressive PD. Co-expression networks for Braak's stages were built, and the top five clusters from each stage displayed significant overlap with differentially expressed genes in rapidly progressive PD, indicating shared biomarkers between the blood and the PD brain. Further investigation showed, NF-kappa-B p105 as the master transcriptional regulator of these biomarkers. Molecular docking screened phlorethopentafuhalol-A from brown algae, exhibiting a superior inhibitory effect with p105 (- 7.51 kcal/mol) by outperforming PD drugs and anti-inflammatory compounds (- 5.73 to - 4.38 kcal/mol). Quantum mechanics and molecular mechanics (QM/MM) calculations and dynamic simulations have confirmed the interactive stability of phlorethopentafuhalol-A with p105. Overall, our combined computational study shows that phlorethopentafuhalol-A derived from brown algae, may have healing properties that could help treat PD.

Lipid Composition, Cytotoxic and Acetylcholinesterase Inhibition Effects of Two Brown Algae Species Lobophora tsengii and Lobophora australis

In this paper, the lipid classes, compositions of the neutral lipids, phospholipids and fatty acids, acetylcholinesterase inhibition and cytotoxic activity of two brown algae Lobophora tsengii D. Tien & Z. Sun and Lobophora australis Z. Sun, F. C. Gurgel & H. Kawai have been investigated. The polar lipid class had the highest content in total lipid (TL) (43.47% in L. tsengii and 48.95% in L. australis). Phosphatidylcholine (PC) and phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) were the main components in the phospholipids of two studied brown algae with contents varied from 32.27% to 52.33%. Total lipids were rich in PUFA (42.54% of total fatty acids for L. australis and 32.98% for L. tsengii), with EPA (11.46%, 14.30%) and AA (8.0%, 11.96%). L. tsengii methanol extract inhibited acetylcholinesterase (AChE) in in vitro assay with an IC50 value of 25.45 µg/mL. Both Lobophora methanol extracts display cytotoxic effects against four human cancer cell lines (KB, MCF7, HepG2 and A549) with IC50 in the range of 21.11-83.61 µg/mL. Especially, L. australis extract showed a strong cytotoxicity against KB cell lines with IC50 value of 21.11±0.39 µg/mL.

Seaweed Derived Lipids Are a Potential Anti-Inflammatory Agent: A Review

Chronic, low-grade inflammation is linked to the development of non-communicable diseases, including cancer, cardiovascular disease, obesity, insulin resistance, diabetes, and others which together contribute to more than 50% of deaths globally. Modulation of inflammatory responses may be a promising strategy, and n-3 long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 LC-PUFA) may offer a new therapeutic option in inflammatory conditions. Seaweeds are characterised by high nutritional quality and are a good source of many bioactive compounds, including n-3 LC-PUFA. This review addresses the potential anti-inflammatory properties of seaweed derived lipids, and their immunomodulating mechanisms in order to identify the possible applications of seaweed as an anti-inflammatory functional food ingredient or dietary supplement. A few studies have evaluated the anti-inflammatory activity of seaweed lipids using crude lipid extracts, lipid fractions and isolated complex lipids from several seaweeds belonging to the Ochrophyta and Rhodophyta phyla, with only three Ulva rigida, Ulva sp. and Codium tomentosum within the Chlorophyta phylum. It was reported that seaweed derived lipids suppress inducible nitric oxide synthase and cyclooxygenase-2 expression and reduce nuclear factor κB p100 and myeloid differentiation primary response 88 protein levels leading to the downregulation of the production of several pro-inflammatory cytokines and nitric oxide. Further investigations are required to unravel the complex mechanisms underlying their preventive action against chronic inflammation and their potential use as a new functional food ingredient and/or health supplement.

In Vitro Study of the Therapeutic Potential of Brown Crude Fucoidans in Osteoarthritis Treatment

Osteoarthritis, one of the most common joint degenerative pathologies, still has no cure, and current treatments, such as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, can cause serious adverse effects when taken for a long time. Brown seaweed crude fucoidans are used for the clinical treatment of several pathologies. In this study, the therapeutical potential of these biocompounds was analyzed in primary chondrocytes and the 260TT human chondrocyte cell line. Crude fucoidan from Undaria pinnatifida (Up) and Sargassum muticum (Sm) was obtained by different extraction techniques (microwave-assisted extraction, pressurized hot-water extraction, ultrasound-assisted extraction) and chemically and structurally characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, high-performance size-exclusion chromatography, proton nuclear magnetic resonance, and scanning electron microscopy. Once cell viability was confirmed in chondrocytes treated with crude fucoidans, we evaluated their anti-inflammatory effects, observing a significant reduction in IL-6 production stimulated by IL-1β. Findings were confirmed by analysis of IL-6 and IL-8 gene expression, although only fucoidans from Up achieved a statistically significant reduction. Besides this, the antioxidant capacity of crude fucoidans was observed through the upregulation of Nrf-2 levels and the expression of its transcriptional target genes HO-1 and SOD-2, with compounds from Up again showing a more consistent effect. However, no evidence was found that crude fucoidans modulate senescence, as they failed to reduced β-galactosidase activity, cell proliferation, or IL-6 production in chondrocytes stimulated with etoposide. Thus, the findings of this research seem to indicate that the tested crude fucoidans are capable of partially alleviating OA-associated inflammation and oxidative stress, but fail to attenuate chondrocyte senescence.

Comprehensive Lipidomic Analysis of Three Edible Brown Seaweeds Based on Reversed-Phase Liquid Chromatography Coupled with Quadrupole Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry

A comprehensive lipidomic analysis was performed onto three edible brown seaweeds, namely Laminaria japonica, Undaria pinnatifida, and Scagassum natans, using reversed-phase liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (RPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS). In total, 675 lipid molecules, including glycolipids (GLs), phospholipids, sphingolipids (SLs), betaine lipids, and glycerolipids, were identified and semiquantified. With the exception of the high content of diacylglycerols found in L. japonica (54.6% of total lipids), GLs were the dominant component in the three brown seaweeds (27.7-56.7% of total lipids), containing a high proportion of eicosapentaenoic acid. Interestingly, SLs represented by ceramide and hexosylceramide containing phytosphingosine and α-hydroxy fatty acid structures were detected in the three brown seaweeds. A large number of acylated GLs were identified and reported for the first time in these seaweeds, including acylated monogalactosyldiacylglycerol and acylated digalactosyldiacylglycerol containing nonoxidized fatty acids. The bioactive lipids identified herein could be considered potential biomarkers for identifying these seaweeds, evaluating their nutritional value and further promoting their utilization.

Algal Lipids as Modulators of Skin Disease: A Critical Review

The prevalence of inflammatory skin diseases continues to increase with a high incidence in children and adults. These diseases are triggered by environmental factors, such as UV radiation, certain chemical compounds, infectious agents, and in some cases, people with a genetic predisposition. The pathophysiology of inflammatory skin diseases such as psoriasis or atopic dermatitis, but also of skin cancers, is the result of the activation of inflammation-related metabolic pathways and the overproduction of pro-inflammatory cytokines observed in in vitro and in vivo studies. Inflammatory skin diseases are also associated with oxidative stress, overproduction of ROS, and impaired antioxidant defense, which affects the metabolism of immune cells and skin cells (keratinocytes and fibroblasts) in systemic and skin disorders. Lipids from algae have been scarcely applied to modulate skin diseases, but they are well known antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agents. They have shown scavenging activities and can modulate redox homeostasis enzymes. They can also downmodulate key inflammatory signaling pathways and transcription factors such as NF-κB, decreasing the expression of pro-inflammatory mediators. Thus, the exploitation of algae lipids as therapeutical agents for the treatment of inflammatory skin diseases is highly attractive, being critically reviewed in the present work.