Floridoside Extracted from the Red Alga Mastocarpus stellatus Is a Potent Activator of the Classical Complement Pathway

Many biological properties of algae have been found to have useful applications in human health, particularly in the fields of oncology and immunology. Floridoside, extracted from the red alga Mastocarpus stellatus, has a structure similar to the xenoantigen Gal alpha 1-3 Gal. This xenoantigen has b...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Marine drugs 2008-09, Vol.6 (3), p.407-417
Main Authors: Courtois, Anthony, Simon-Colin, Christelle, Boisset, Claire, Berthou, Christian, Deslandes, Eric, Guézennec, Jean, Bordron, Anne
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Alpha-galactosyl glycerol
complement system
immunomodulation
Marine
marine algae
Mastocarpus stellatus
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Summary:Many biological properties of algae have been found to have useful applications in human health, particularly in the fields of oncology and immunology. Floridoside, extracted from the red alga Mastocarpus stellatus, has a structure similar to the xenoantigen Gal alpha 1-3 Gal. This xenoantigen has been described to induce a high immune response in human xenografts and is mediated by natural anti-gal antibodies that activate the classical complement pathway. Based on this property, we analyzed the potential activities of floridoside on the immune system. We demonstrated that floridoside activates a complement cascade via the classical complement pathway, through the recruitment and activation of natural IgM. This algal molecule could represent an important step in the development of a potent new anticomplementary agent for use in therapeutic complement depletion.
ISSN:1660-3397
1660-3397
DOI:10.3390/md6030407