earticle

영어

Fucoidans, a group of fucose-enriched sulfated polysaccharides isolated from brown algae and marine invertebrates, have been shown to exert anticancer activity in several types of human cancer, including leukemia, breast cancer, and lung adenocarcinoma cells. In the present study, the anticancer activity of the fucoidan (MF) extracted from the sporophyll (called Miyeokgui in Korea) of brown seaweed Undariapinnatifidawas investigated in human prostate cancer PC-3 cells. PC-3 cells exposed to fucoidan displayed growth inhibition and several typical features of apoptotic cells, such as activation of caspases and mitochondrial dysfunction including depolarization of the mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP, Δψm), and concomitant decreased expression of antiapoptotic Bcl-2 family proteins. Furthermore, treatment of PC-3 cells with fucoidan (10, 50, 100, 200 μg/ml) resulted in a dose dependent induction of MAP kinases including extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase (ERK), c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK), and p38 and an inactivation of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt pathway. These result revealed that the Miyeokgui fucoidan has a potent anticancer activity in vitro against human prostate cancer by triggering apoptotic cell death through activation of MAPKs (ERK, JNK, p38) and inactivation of PI3K/Akt pathways as well as mithchondrial dysfuction.