Brief Article
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World J Gastroenterol. Sep 7, 2013; 19(33): 5500-5507
Published online Sep 7, 2013. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v19.i33.5500
Fucoidan enhances intestinal barrier function by upregulating the expression of claudin-1
Atsushi Iraha, Hiroshi Chinen, Akira Hokama, Takumi Yonashiro, Tetsu Kinjo, Kazuto Kishimoto, Manabu Nakamoto, Tetsuo Hirata, Nagisa Kinjo, Futoshi Higa, Masao Tateyama, Fukunori Kinjo, Jiro Fujita
Atsushi Iraha, Akira Hokama, Kazuto Kishimoto, Tetsuo Hirata, Futoshi Higa, Masao Tateyama, Jiro Fujita, Department of Infectious, Respiratory, and Digestive Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of the Ryukyus, Okinawa 903-0215, Japan
Hiroshi Chinen, Tetsu Kinjo, Manabu Nakamoto, Nagisa Kinjo, Fukunori Kinjo, Department of Endoscopy, University of the Ryukyus Hospital, Okinawa 903-0215, Japan
Takumi Yonashiro, Uruma Bio Co Ltd, Uruma, Okinawa 904-2234, Japan
Author contributions: Iraha A and Chinen H designed and performed the research; Iraha A wrote the manuscript; Hokama A reviewed the manuscript; Yonashiro T, Kinjo T, Kishimoto K, Nakamoto M, Hirata T and Kinjo N provided technical support; Hokama A, Higa F, Tateyama M, Kinjo F and Fujita J supervised the project.
Correspondence to: Akira Hokama, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Infectious, Respiratory, and Digestive Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of the Ryukyus, 207 Uehara, Nishihara, Okinawa 903-0215, Japan. hokama-a@med.u-ryukyu.ac.jp
Telephone: +81-98-8951144 Fax: +81-98-8951414
Received: April 25, 2013
Revised: July 7, 2013
Accepted: July 23, 2013
Published online: September 7, 2013
Processing time: 136 Days and 11.5 Hours
Core Tip

Core tip: The oxidative stress-induced disruption of the intestinal epithelial cells and subsequent increased paracellular permeability are critically important in the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). A growing body of experimental evidence indicates that fucoidan, a dietary substance of fucose-enriched sulfated polysaccharides, display a wide variety of pharmacological anti-inflammatory activities. This study demonstrates that fucoidan protected the epithelial barrier function from oxidative injury of the tight junction as well as barrier disruption by upregulating the expression of claudin-1. Thus, fucoidan may be an appropriate therapy for the treatment of IBD.