Ability of high molecular weight (HMW) κ‐ and λ‐carrageenans of the red marine algae Chondrus armatus and their low molecular weight degradation products (LMWDPs) (0.7–20 and 10–170 kDa respectively) to influence functional properties (motility and phagocytosis) of murine peritoneal macrophages was assessed in this study as an in vitro and a weeklong feeding experiment. We demonstrated that, with an exception of one, all carrageenan samples at 100 μg/ml increased cellular motility and dose‐dependently decreased phagocytic activity; LMWDPs of λ‐carrageenan suppressed motility and had no effect on phagocytosis. Oral administration of all the carrageenan samples at 100 μg/kg/day for 7 days to mice had no effect on their clinical appearance, body weight, weight of their liver, spleen or thymus or development of noticeable changes to their inner organs. All samples induced a shift of the cell composition of the peritoneal cavity towards macrophages. Consumption of LMWDPs of κ‐carrageenan resulted in development of leukopenia, however, no changes to relative WBC count were introduced by either of the samples. All samples decreased murine peritoneal macrophages phagocytic activity, with λ‐samples possessing higher efficacy than their κ‐counterparts; all LMWDPs stimulated peritoneal macrophages motility, with κ‐samples possessing higher efficacy than their λ‐counterparts In conclusion, we have shown that κ‐ and λ‐carrageenans of the C. armatus and their LMWDPs suppress phagocytotic activity of peritoneal macrophages under both in vitro and in vivo conditions. This allows them to be viewed as pharmacologically active substances andpropagates the need for their further investigation as such.

中文翻译：

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角叉菜角叉菜胶及其低分子量降解产物的免疫学作用

红海藻Chondrus armatus的高分子量 (HMW) κ-和 λ-角叉菜胶的能力及其低分子量降解产物（LMWDP）（分别为 0.7-20 和 10-170 kDa）影响小鼠腹腔巨噬细胞的功能特性（运动性和吞噬作用）在本研究中作为体外和为期一周的喂养实验进行了评估。我们证明，除了一个之外，所有 100 μg/ml 的角叉菜胶样品都增加了细胞运动，并且剂量依赖性地降低了吞噬活性；λ-角叉菜胶的 LMWDP 抑制运动，对吞噬作用没有影响。将所有角叉菜胶样品以 100 μg/kg/天的剂量口服给药 7 天，对小鼠的临床外观、体重、肝脏、脾脏或胸腺的重量或内脏器官的显着变化没有影响。所有样品都诱导了腹腔细胞成分向巨噬细胞的转变。消耗 κ-角叉菜胶的 LMWDP 会导致白细胞减少症的发生，然而，这两个样本均未引入相对 WBC 计数的变化。所有样本均降低了小鼠腹腔巨噬细胞的吞噬活性，λ 样本比其 κ 样本具有更高的功效；所有 LMWDPs 都刺激了腹膜巨噬细胞的运动，其中 κ-样品比它们的 λ-对应物具有更高的功效。 总之，我们已经证明了C. armatus及其LMWDPs 在体外和体内条件下抑制腹膜巨噬细胞的吞噬活性。这使得它们可以被视为药理活性物质，并增加了对它们进行进一步研究的必要性。