Stimulatory effect of an algal fucoidan on the release of vascular endothelial tissue-type plasminogen activator as a mechanism of fucoidan-mediated thrombolysis.

Identifying a pharmacological means for increasing the production of tissue-type plasminogen activator (t-PA) is always desirable to cure impaired production of this enzyme. An algal fucoidan has been shown to exhibit both novel thrombolytic and synergistic stimulatory effects in a mouse thrombosis model. The plasma levels of active t-PA were measured in mouse arterial thrombus models that were treated with various fucoidans to investigate the mechanism of thrombolysis. The mean plasma level of active t-PA after the infusion of fucoidan was 2.136 ± 0.231 ng/ml for nonthrombolytic Fucus fucoidan and 3.917 ± 0.0.529 ng/ml for thrombolytic Undaria fucoidan, which resulted in a 1.56-2.29-fold increase compared with the healthy control group (1.706 ± 0.194 ng/ml) and the untreated thrombus group (2.506 ± 0.301 ng/ml) (P < 0.01). An algal fucoidan has demonstrated to exert a thrombolytic and stimulatory effect via the induction of t-PA release in a dose-dependent manner in an arterial thrombosis model.