Jellyfish Polysaccharides for Wound Healing Applications

Abstract

Jellyfishes are considered a new potential resource in food, pharmaceutical and biomedical industries. In these latter cases, they are studied as source of active principles but are also exploited to produce marine collagen. In the present work, jellyfish skin polysaccharides (JSP) with glycosaminoglycan (GAG) features were extracted from Rhizostoma pulmo, a main blooming species of Mediterranean Sea, massively augmented by climate leaded “jellyfishication” of the sea. Two main fractions of R. pulmo JSP (RP-JSPs) were isolated and characterized, namely a neutral fraction (RP-JSP1) and a sulphate rich, negatively charged fraction (RP-JSP2). The two fractions have average molecular weights of 121 kDa and 590 kDa, respectively. Their sugar composition was evaluated through LC-MS analysis and the result confirmed the presence of typical GAG saccharides, such as glucose, galactose, glucosamine and galactosamine. Their use as promoters of wound healing was evaluated through in vitro scratch assay on murine fibroblast cell line (BALB/3T3 clone A31) and human keratinocytes (HaCaT). Both RP-JSPs demonstrated an effective confluency rate activity leading to 80% of scratch repair in two days, promoting both cell migration and proliferation. Additionally, RP-JSPs exerted a substantial protection from oxidative stress, resulting in improved viability of treated fibroblasts exposed to H2O2. The isolated GAG-like polysaccharides appear promising as functional component for biomedical skin treatments, as well as for future exploitation as pharmaceutical excipients.

Jellyfishes—Significant Marine Resources with Potential in the Wound-Healing Process: A Review

“…In 2022, Migone et al isolated new polysaccharides (JSPs) from the jellyfish Rhizostoma pulmo. These polysaccharides have typical glycosaminoglycan (GAG) structures, confirmed by LC-MS techniques, such as glucose, galactose, glucosamine and galactosamine, also presented in Figure 4 [135]. This jellyfish is one of the main prolific species in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea.…”

“…Its two main fractions were isolated from Rhizostoma pulmo (RP-JSPs): a neutral fraction (RP-JSP1) and a sulfate-rich fraction, (RP-JSP2), with average molecular weights of 121 kDa and 590 kDa, respectively. Migone et al demonstrated the importance of these compounds in wound healing by applying the in vitro scratch test [135]. The results confirmed that both RP-JSP polysaccharides show good activity in tissue regeneration, achieving cell proliferation of more than 80% [135].…”

Structural and biofunctional evaluation of decellularized jellyfish matrices

“…As the only precedent of this work, Fernández-Cervantes et al showed the preparation of a cell-free scaffold from jellyfish Cassiopea andromeda , but did not investigate the effects of different decellularization methods and test the biocompatibility and functions of the jellyfish matrix in vivo . 43 Compared to the scaffolds fabricated with the collagen purified from jellyfish, 27,39–42 matrices obtained through decellularization are not only easy to prepare but also can better preserve the natural 3D structure as well as many potentially bioactive components of the jellyfish ECM. In this study, the decellularized jellyfish matrix exhibited promising biocompatibility and a capacity to facilitate wound healing in vivo (Fig.…”

“…48 Fourth, the polysaccharides in the jellyfish matrix might also be beneficial for wound repair. 39…”

“…The collagen purified from jellyfish has been tested as a biomaterial in cell culture [39][40][41][42] and in vivo. 27 However, the development and applications of the decellularized jellyfish matrix have been rarely reported.…”