Production of high- and low-molecular weight fucoidan fragments with defined sulfation patterns and heightened in vitro anticancer activity against TNBC cells using novel endo-fucanases of the GH107 family.

Fucoidans are complex fucose-containing sulfated polysaccharides with pronounced anticancer effects. Their structure-anticancer activity relationships are difficult to determine due to fucoidans' complex, often irregularities-including structures. Fucoidan-active enzymes can be used for this propose. We have investigated two new recombinant endo-fucanases FWf3 and FWf4 from the marine bacterium Wenyingzhuangia fucanilytica CZ1127 that belong to the 107 family of glycoside hydrolases (GH). Both enzymes cleaved α-(1→4)-glycosidic bonds but in fucoidan fragments with different sulfation patterns. FWf3 is the first characterized endo-fucanase that cleaves glycosidic bonds between 2O- and 2,4diO-sulfated L-fucose residues. The obtained endo-fucanases were used to produce low- and high-molecular weight fucoidan derivatives with different sulfate group locations. Low- and high-molecular weight fucoidan derivatives rich with 2,4diO-sulfation were shown to inhibit MDA-MB-231 cell colony formation more efficiently than the native fucoidan and the derivatives sulfated otherwise. Such derivatives effectively suppressed the mitochondrial membrane potential of MDA-MB-231 cells and reduced the expression of the glucose transporter 1 (GLUT1). Co-treatment of MDA-MB-231 cells with the fucoidan derivatives and oligomycin (an OXPHOS inhibitor) resulted in a synergistic anticancer effect. The data obtained demonstrate, that fucoidan and its 2,4diO-sulfated derivatives can be an effective adjunct in TNBC therapy targeting cell metabolism.