Fucan inhibits Chinese hamster ovary cell (CHO) adhesion to fibronectin by binding to the extracellular matrix

In recent years, sulfated fucans have emerged as an important class of natural biopolymers. in this study, the anti-adhesive activity of a fucan from the brown seaweed Spatoglossum schroederi was analyzed using tumorigenic cells: wild-type Chinese hamster ovary cells (CHO-K1) and the mutant type deficient in xylosyltransferase (CHO-745). Fibronectin (FN) was used as substrate for cell attachment. for both cell types, this fucan has shown a dose-dependent anti-adhesive effect, reaching saturation at around 400 mu g/mL. This effect was abolished by desulfation of the fucan. in addition, this polymer exhibited the highest inhibitory effect in comparison to other sulfated polysaccharides. the fucan was biotinylated and used as a probe to identify its action sites. Biotinylated fucan was detected in the extracellular matrix environment by confocal microscopy and flow cytometric analysis, but not at the cell surface. the results suggest that the fucan shows anti-adhesive activity by binding directly to FN, and blocking FN sites that are recognized by cell surface ligands, possibly the integrin family.Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Dept Bioquim, Escola Paulista Med, BR-04044020 São Paulo, BrazilUniv Fed Rio Grande Norte, Lab Biotecnol Polimeros Nat, BIOPOL, Dept Bioquim, BR-59072970 Natal, RN, BrazilUniv Fed Parana, Dept Biol Celular, BR-80060000 Curitiba, Parana, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Dept Bioquim, Escola Paulista Med, BR-04044020 São Paulo, BrazilWeb of Scienc