Abstract
The extraction, fractionation and HIV-1 inhibition potential of polysaccharides extracted from three species of marine sponges, Erylus discophorus, Cliona celata and Stelletta sp., collected in the Northeastern Atlantic, is presented in this work. The anti-HIV activity of 23 polysaccharide pellets and three crude extracts was tested. Crude extracts prepared from Erylus discophorus specimens were all highly active against HIV-1 (90 to 95% inhibition). Cliona celata pellets showed low polysaccharide content (bellow 38.5%) and almost no anti-HIV activity (<10% inhibition). Stelletta sp. pellets, although quite rich in polysaccharide (up to 97.3%), showed only modest bioactivity (<36% HIV-1 inhibition). Erylus discophorus pellets were among the richest in terms of polysaccharide content (up to 98%) and the most active against HIV-1 (up to 95% inhibition). Chromatographic fractionation of the polysaccharide pellet obtained from a specimen of Erylus discophorus (B161) yielded only modestly active fractions. However, we could infer that the active molecule is most probably a high molecular weight sulfated polysaccharide (>2000 kDa), whose mechanism is possibly preventing viral attachment and entry (fusion inhibitor).
Highlights
Sponges are filter feeding benthonic animals that have survived until present almost morphologically unaltered since the Superior Cambrian (509 million years ago) [1]
We report preliminary assays on the anti-HIV activity of extracts from marine sponges collected in the Western Portuguese Coast, Northeastern Atlantic
Four different polysaccharide extraction methods were applied to six sponge samples: B22 (Stelletta sp.), B33 and B124 (Cliona celata) and B161, B206 and B294 (Erylus discophorus), providing us with 24 polysaccharide pellets (these pellets will be further addressed in the format specimen(extraction method); example: B33(II) would refer to the polysaccharide pellet extracted from specimen B33 according to extraction method II)
Summary
Sponges are filter feeding benthonic animals that have survived until present almost morphologically unaltered since the Superior Cambrian (509 million years ago) [1]. They represent the simplest multicellular life form present nowadays in our planet, similar, in evolutionary terms, to primordial multicellular organisms [2]. Sponges are the most primitive animals living today and, for that, they are considered living fossils [3]. There are 8365 known sponge species [5] and, of these, around 98% live in marine habitats [1] They attach to the marine substratum in many different depths (from intertidal zones to abyssal pits), temperatures, salinities and light conditions [6] and exist in a multitude of colors and shapes
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