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Current Neuropharmacology 2021The edible cyanobacterium Spirulina platensis and its chief biliprotein C-Phycocyanin have shown protective activity in animal models of diverse human health diseases,...
The edible cyanobacterium Spirulina platensis and its chief biliprotein C-Phycocyanin have shown protective activity in animal models of diverse human health diseases, often reflecting antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. The beneficial effects of C-Phycocyanin seem likely to be primarily attributable to its covalently attached chromophore Phycocyanobilin (PCB). Within cells, biliverdin is generated from free heme and it is subsequently reduced to bilirubin. Although bilirubin can function as an oxidant scavenger, its potent antioxidant activity reflects its ability to inactivate some isoforms of NADPH oxidase. Free bilirubin can also function as an agonist for the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR); this may explain its ability to promote protective Treg activity in cellular and rodent models of inflammatory disease. AhR agonists also promote transcription of the gene coding for Nrf-2, and hence can up-regulate phase 2 induction of antioxidant enzymes, such as HO-1. Hence, it is proposed that C-Phycocyanin/PCB chiefly exert their protective effects via inhibition of NADPH oxidase activity, as well as by AhR agonism that both induces Treg activity and up-regulates phase 2 induction. This simple model may explain their potent antioxidant/antiinflammatory effects. Additionally, PCB might mimic biliverdin in activating anti-inflammatory signaling mediated by biliverdin reductase. This essay reviews recent research in which CPhycocyanin and/or PCB, administered orally, parenterally, or intranasally, have achieved marked protective effects in rodent and cell culture models of Ischemic Stroke and Multiple Sclerosis, and suggests that these agents may likewise be protective for Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and in COVID-19 and its neurological complications.
Topics: Animals; COVID-19; Dietary Supplements; Humans; Neurodegenerative Diseases; Phycobilins; Phycocyanin; SARS-CoV-2
PubMed: 33829974
DOI: 10.2174/1570159X19666210408123807 -
Marine Drugs Mar 2021Algae are considered pigment-producing organisms. The function of these compounds in algae is to carry out photosynthesis. They have a great variety of pigments, which... (Review)
Review
Algae are considered pigment-producing organisms. The function of these compounds in algae is to carry out photosynthesis. They have a great variety of pigments, which can be classified into three large groups: chlorophylls, carotenoids, and phycobilins. Within the carotenoids are xanthophylls. Xanthophylls (fucoxanthin, astaxanthin, lutein, zeaxanthin, and β-cryptoxanthin) are a type of carotenoids with anti-tumor and anti-inflammatory activities, due to their chemical structure rich in double bonds that provides them with antioxidant properties. In this context, xanthophylls can protect other molecules from oxidative stress by turning off singlet oxygen damage through various mechanisms. Based on clinical studies, this review shows the available information concerning the bioactivity and biological effects of the main xanthophylls present in algae. In addition, the algae with the highest production rate of the different compounds of interest were studied. It was observed that fucoxanthin is obtained mainly from the brown seaweeds , , , spp., and spp. The main sources of astaxanthin are the microalgae , and sp. Lutein and zeaxanthin are mainly found in algal species such as , , spp., or spp. However, the extraction and purification processes of xanthophylls from algae need to be standardized to facilitate their commercialization. Finally, we assessed factors that determine the bioavailability and bioaccesibility of these molecules. We also suggested techniques that increase xanthophyll's bioavailability.
Topics: Animals; Anti-Inflammatory Agents; Antioxidants; Cyanobacteria; Dietary Supplements; Humans; Microalgae; Nutritive Value; Rhodophyta; Seaweed; Stramenopiles; Xanthophylls
PubMed: 33801636
DOI: 10.3390/md19040188 -
Food & Function Apr 2021C-Phycocyanin (CPC) exerts therapeutic, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory actions. It prevents oxidative stress and acute kidney damage caused by HgCl....
C-Phycocyanin (CPC) exerts therapeutic, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory actions. It prevents oxidative stress and acute kidney damage caused by HgCl. However, the exact mechanism of the pharmacological action of C-phycocyanin is as yet unclear. Some proposals express that CPC metabolism releases the active compound phycocyanobilin (PCB) that is able to induce CPC's therapeutical effects as an antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and nephroprotective. This study is aimed to demonstrate that PCB is the molecule responsible for C-phycocyanin's nephroprotective action in the acute kidney injury model caused by HgCl. PCB was purified from C-phycocyanin and characterized by spectroscopy and mass spectrometry methods. Thirty-six male mice were administrated with 0.75, 1.5, or 3 mg per kg per d of PCB 30 min before the 5 mg kg HgCl administration. PCB was administered during the following five days, after which the mice were euthanized. Kidneys were dissected to determine oxidative stress and redox environment markers, first-line antioxidant enzymes, effector caspase activities, and kidney damage markers.The quality of purified PCB was evaluated by spectroscopy and mass spectrometry. All PCB doses prevented alterations in oxidative stress markers, antioxidant enzymes, and caspase 9 activities. However, only the dose of 3 mg per kg per d PCB avoided the redox environment disturbance produced by mercury. All doses of PCB partially prevented the down-expression of nephrin and podocin with a consequent reduction in the damage score in a dose-effect manner. In conclusion, it was proven that phycocyanobilin is the molecule responsible for C-phycocyanin's nephroprotective action on acute kidney injury caused by mercury.
Topics: Acute Kidney Injury; Animals; Disease Models, Animal; Kidney; Male; Mercury; Mice; Phycobilins; Phycocyanin; Protective Agents; Random Allocation
PubMed: 33704296
DOI: 10.1039/d0fo03294h -
Proceedings of the National Academy of... Mar 2021Marine cyanobacteria owe their ubiquity in part to the wide pigment diversity of their light-harvesting complexes. In open ocean waters, cells predominantly possess...
Marine cyanobacteria owe their ubiquity in part to the wide pigment diversity of their light-harvesting complexes. In open ocean waters, cells predominantly possess sophisticated antennae with rods composed of phycocyanin and two types of phycoerythrins (PEI and PEII). Some strains are specialized for harvesting either green or blue light, while others can dynamically modify their light absorption spectrum to match the dominant ambient color. This process, called type IV chromatic acclimation (CA4), has been linked to the presence of a small genomic island occurring in two configurations (CA4-A and CA4-B). While the CA4-A process has been partially characterized, the CA4-B process has remained an enigma. Here we characterize the function of two members of the phycobilin lyase E/F clan, MpeW and MpeQ, in sp. strain A15-62 and demonstrate their critical role in CA4-B. While MpeW, encoded in the CA4-B island and up-regulated in green light, attaches the green light-absorbing chromophore phycoerythrobilin to cysteine-83 of the PEII α-subunit in green light, MpeQ binds phycoerythrobilin and isomerizes it into the blue light-absorbing phycourobilin at the same site in blue light, reversing the relationship of MpeZ and MpeY in the CA4-A strain RS9916. Our data thus reveal key molecular differences between the two types of chromatic acclimaters, both highly abundant but occupying distinct complementary ecological niches in the ocean. They also support an evolutionary scenario whereby CA4-B island acquisition allowed former blue light specialists to become chromatic acclimaters, while former green light specialists would have acquired this capacity by gaining a CA4-A island.
Topics: Acclimatization; Aquatic Organisms; Bacterial Proteins; Cloning, Molecular; Escherichia coli; Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial; Genetic Complementation Test; Genetic Vectors; Genomic Islands; Light; Light-Harvesting Protein Complexes; Lyases; Phycobilins; Phycocyanin; Phycoerythrin; Phylogeny; Pigments, Biological; Protein Subunits; Recombinant Proteins; Synechococcus; Urobilin
PubMed: 33627406
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2019715118 -
Nutrients Feb 2021Marine and freshwater algae and their products are in growing demand worldwide because of their nutritional and functional properties. Microalgae (unicellular algae)... (Review)
Review
Marine and freshwater algae and their products are in growing demand worldwide because of their nutritional and functional properties. Microalgae (unicellular algae) will constitute one of the major foods of the future for nutritional and environmental reasons. They are sources of high-quality protein and bioactive molecules with potential application in the modern epidemics of obesity and diabetes. They may also contribute decisively to sustainability through carbon dioxide fixation and minimization of agricultural land use. This paper reviews current knowledge of the effects of consuming edible microalgae on the metabolic alterations known as metabolic syndrome (MS). These microalgae include , () and as well as and as candidates for human consumption. biomass has shown antioxidant, antidiabetic, immunomodulatory, antihypertensive, and antihyperlipidemic effects in humans and other mammals. The components of microalgae reviewed suggest that they may be effective against MS at two levels: in the early stages, to work against the development of insulin resistance (IR), and later, when pancreatic -cell function is already compromised. The active components at both stages are antioxidant scavengers and anti-inflammatory lipid mediators such as carotenoids and -3 PUFAs (eicosapentaenoic acid/docosahexaenoic acid; EPA/DHA), prebiotic polysaccharides, phenolics, antihypertensive peptides, several pigments such as phycobilins and phycocyanin, and some vitamins, such as folate. As a source of high-quality protein, including an array of bioactive molecules with potential activity against the modern epidemics of obesity and diabetes, microalgae are proposed as excellent foods for the future. Moreover, their incorporation into the human diet would decisively contribute to a more sustainable world because of their roles in carbon dioxide fixation and reducing the use of land for agricultural purposes.
Topics: Animals; Anti-Inflammatory Agents; Antioxidants; Biological Factors; Chlorella; Diabetes Mellitus; Diet; Dietary Proteins; Functional Food; Humans; Hypoglycemic Agents; Metabolic Diseases; Microalgae; Obesity; Spirulina
PubMed: 33572056
DOI: 10.3390/nu13020563 -
The Biochemical Journal Mar 2021Cyanobacteriochromes are linear tetrapyrrole-binding photoreceptors produced by cyanobacteria. Their chromophore-binding GAF domains are categorized into many lineages....
Cyanobacteriochromes are linear tetrapyrrole-binding photoreceptors produced by cyanobacteria. Their chromophore-binding GAF domains are categorized into many lineages. Among them, dual Cys-type cyanobacteriochrome GAF domains possessing not only a highly conserved 'first Cys' but also a 'second Cys' are found from multiple lineages. The first Cys stably attaches to C31 of the A-ring, while the second Cys mostly shows reversible ligation to the C10 of the chromophore. Notably, the position of the second Cys in the primary sequence is diversified, and the most abundant dual Cys-type GAF domains have a 'second Cys' within the DXCF motif, which are called DXCF GAF domains. It has been long known that the second Cys in the DXCF GAF domains not only shows the reversible ligation but also is involved in isomerization activity (reduction in C4=C5 double bond) from the initially incorporated phycocyanobilin to phycoviolobilin. However, comprehensive site-directed mutagenesis on the DXCF GAF domains, AM1_6305g1 and AM1_1499g1, revealed that the second Cys is dispensable for isomerization activity, in which three residues participate by fixing the C- and D-rings. Fixation of the chromophore on both sides of the C5 bridge is necessary, even though one side of the fixation site is far from this bridge, with the other side at C31 fixed by the first Cys.
Topics: Cyanobacteria; Cysteine; Mutagenesis, Site-Directed; Mutation; Photoreceptors, Microbial; Phycobilins; Phytochrome; Protein Conformation; Protein Domains
PubMed: 33559683
DOI: 10.1042/BCJ20210013 -
Spectrochimica Acta. Part A, Molecular... Apr 2021Phycocyanobilin is a dark blue linear tetrapyrrole chromophore covalently attached to protein subunits of phycobiliproteins present in the light-harvesting complexes of...
Phycocyanobilin is a dark blue linear tetrapyrrole chromophore covalently attached to protein subunits of phycobiliproteins present in the light-harvesting complexes of the cyanobacteria Arthrospira platensis (Spirulina "superfood"). It shows exceptional health-promoting properties and emerging use in various fields of bioscience and industry. This study aims to examine the mutual impact of phycocyanobilin interactions with catalase, a life-essential antioxidant enzyme. Fluorescence quenching experiments demonstrated moderate binding (K of 3.9 × 10 M at 25 °C; n = 0.89) (static type), while van't Hoff plot points to an enthalpically driven ligand binding (ΔG = -28.2 kJ mol; ΔH = -41.9 kJ mol). No significant changes in protein secondary structures (α-helix content ~22%) and thermal protein stability in terms of enzyme tetramer subunits (T ~ 64 °C) were detected upon ligand binding. Alterations in the tertiary catalase structure were found without adverse effects on enzyme activity (~2 × 10 IU/mL). The docking study results indicated that the ligand most likely binds to amino acid residues (Asn141, Arg 362, Tyr369 and Asn384) near the cavity between the enzyme homotetramer subunits not related to the active site. Finally, complex formation protects the pigment from free-radical induced oxidation (bleaching), suggesting possible prolongation of its half-life and bioactivity in vivo if bound to catalase.
Topics: Catalase; Dietary Supplements; Phycobilins; Phycocyanin; Protein Binding; Spirulina
PubMed: 33515920
DOI: 10.1016/j.saa.2021.119483 -
Archives of Microbiology May 2021For the first time, the microalga Porphyridium cruentum was tested for its ability to produce silver nanoparticles. To characterize formed silver nanoparticles UV-vis...
For the first time, the microalga Porphyridium cruentum was tested for its ability to produce silver nanoparticles. To characterize formed silver nanoparticles UV-vis Spectrometry, Scanning Electron Microscopy, Energy-dispersive analysis of X-rays and X-ray diffraction were used. It was shown that after biomass exposure to silver nitrate solution the extracellular formation of spherical-like nanoparticles took place. Functional groups responsible for metal binding were determined by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. The complex of biochemical tests was used for biomass characterization and assessment of the changes of its main components (proteins, lipids, carbohydrates, and phycobilin) during nanoparticle formation. Obtained data indicate a significant decrease of proteins, carbohydrates, phycobiliproteins, and lipids content as well as antiradical activity of biomass. The obtained results show the necessity of determination of optimal conditions for obtaining Porphyridium cruentum biomass enriched with silver nanoparticles for its further application in the pharmaceuticals industry.
Topics: Biomass; Carbohydrates; Industrial Microbiology; Lipids; Metal Nanoparticles; Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; Porphyridium; Silver; Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared; X-Ray Diffraction
PubMed: 33399893
DOI: 10.1007/s00203-020-02143-z -
Plant & Cell Physiology May 2021Linear tetrapyrrole compounds (bilins) are chromophores of the phytochrome and cyanobacteriochrome classes of photosensors and light-harvesting phycobiliproteins....
Linear tetrapyrrole compounds (bilins) are chromophores of the phytochrome and cyanobacteriochrome classes of photosensors and light-harvesting phycobiliproteins. Various spectroscopic techniques, such as resonance Raman, Fourier transform-infrared and nuclear magnetic resonance, have been used to elucidate the structures underlying their remarkable spectral diversity, in which the signals are experimentally assigned to specific structures using isotopically labeled bilin. However, current methods for isotopic labeling of bilins require specialized expertise, time-consuming procedures and/or expensive reagents. To address these shortcomings, we established a method for pressurized liquid extraction of phycocyanobilin (PCB) from the phycobiliprotein powder Lina Blue and also the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 (Synechocystis). PCB was efficiently cleaved in ethanol with three extractions (5 min each) under nitrogen at 125�C and 100 bars. A prewash at 75�C was effective for removing cellular pigments of Synechocystis without PCB cleavage. Liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry suggested that PCB was cleaved in the C3-E (majority) and C3-Z (partial) configurations. 15N- and 13C/15N-labeled PCBs were prepared from Synechocystis cells grown with NaH13CO3 and/or Na15NO3, the concentrations of which were optimized based on cell growth and pigmentation. Extracted PCB was reconstituted with a recombinant apoprotein of the cyanobacteriochrome-class photosensor RcaE. Yield of the photoactive holoprotein was improved by optimization of the expression conditions and cell disruption in the presence of Tween 20. Our method can be applied for the isotopic labeling of other PCB-binding proteins and for the commercial production of non-labeled PCB for food, cosmetic and medical applications.
Topics: Cyanobacteria; Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; Isotope Labeling; Phycobilins; Phycocyanin; Phytochrome; Synechocystis; Temperature
PubMed: 33386854
DOI: 10.1093/pcp/pcaa164 -
Biomolecules Dec 2020The Balaruc-les-Bains' thermal mud was found to be colonized predominantly by microorganisms, with cyanobacteria constituting the primary organism in the microbial...
The Balaruc-les-Bains' thermal mud was found to be colonized predominantly by microorganisms, with cyanobacteria constituting the primary organism in the microbial biofilm observed on the mud surface. The success of cyanobacteria in colonizing this specific ecological niche can be explained in part by their taxa-specific adaptation capacities, and also the diversity of bioactive natural products that they synthesize. This array of components has physiological and ecological properties that may be exploited for various applications. Nine cyanobacterial strains were isolated from Balaruc thermal mud and maintained in the Paris Museum Collection (PMC). Full genome sequencing was performed coupled with targeted and untargeted metabolomic analyses (HPLC-DAD and LC-MS/MS). Bioassays were performed to determine antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and wound-healing properties. Biosynthetic pathways for phycobiliproteins, scytonemin, and carotenoid pigments and 124 metabolite biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) were characterized. Several compounds with known antioxidant or anti-inflammatory properties, such as carotenoids, phycobilins, mycosporine-like amino acids, and aeruginosins, and other bioactive metabolites like microginins, microviridins, and anabaenolysins were identified. Secretion of the proinflammatory cytokines TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, and IL-8 appeared to be inhibited by crude extracts of PMC 877.14, sp. PMC 881.14, and PMC 885.14. The extract of the sp. PMC 882.14 strain was able to slightly enhance migration of HaCat cells that may be helpful in wound healing. Several antioxidant compounds were detected, but no significant effects on nitric oxide secretion were observed. There was no cytotoxicity on the three cell types tested, indicating that cyanobacterial extracts may have anti-inflammatory therapeutic potential without harming body cells. These data open up promising uses for these extracts and their respective molecules in drugs or thermal therapies.
Topics: Animals; Anti-Inflammatory Agents; Antioxidants; Biological Products; Cell Line; Cell Movement; Cyanobacteria; France; Genome, Bacterial; Humans; Mice; Mud Therapy; RAW 264.7 Cells; Wound Healing
PubMed: 33383796
DOI: 10.3390/biom11010028