Immune-enhancing effects of anionic macromolecules extracted from Codium fragile coupled with arachidonic acid in RAW264.7 cells

Arachidonic acid (ARA) is an integral constituent of the biological cell membrane, conferring it with fluidity and flexibility, which are necessary for the function of all cells, especially nervous system, skeletal muscle, and immune system. Codium species biosynthesize sulfated polysaccharides with very distinct structural features. Some of them have different biological activities with great potential in pharmaceutical applications. In this study, anionic macromolecules extracted from Codium fragile were investigated for their cooperative immune-enhancing activities with ARA. The cooperation between ARA and Codium resulted in increased, dose-dependent nitric oxide production and iNOS gene expression. In addition, co-treatment of ARA and Codium effectively increased pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α), compared with Codium alone. We also demonstrated that the expression of COX-2 mRNA was also increased, which is responsible for the production of inflammatory mediator prostaglandins and their metabolites. Compared to the Codium group, the co-treatment of Codium with ARA enhanced the phosphorylation of nuclear factor-κB p-65, p38, and extracellular signal-related kinase 1/2, indicating that this combination stimulated immune response through nuclear factor-κB and mitogen-activated protein kinase pathways. These results indicated that the coordination of arachidonic acid with polysaccharide extracted from seaweed may be a potential source of immunomodulatory molecules.