Anti-inflammatory Effect of Water-soluble Chitosan Oligosaccharideson Human Monocyte THP-1 Cells

Abstract

The various functional properties of chitosan have been investigated for use in biomedical applications. Indeed, chitosan or its derivatives have shown anti-inflammatory effect by regulating a range of cytokines, chemokines or growth factors. In the present study, we prepared water-soluble chitosan oligosaccharide (AS-WSC) by the hydrolysis of high molecular weight water-soluble chitosan (HMW-WSC) and examined its anti-inflammatory effect on LPS-stimulated human monocytic THP-1 cells. Our results revealed that LPS-induced NF-κB activity of THP-1 cells was significantly suppressed by treatment with 0.02% AS-WSC. In addition, 0.02% AS-WSC treatment down-regulated the expression of Toll-like receptor 4 and inflammatory cytokines, such as IL-1β and TNF-α, but had no effect on IL-10 and IL-4 expression in LPS-stimulated THP-1 cells. Our results suggest that 0.02% AS-WSC can be considered as a promising anti-inflammatory agent.