Pre- and Early Post-treatment With Arthrospira platensis (Spirulina) Extract Impedes Lipopolysaccharide triggered Neuroinflammation in Microglia
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Background: Uncontrolled neuroinflammation and microglia activation lead to cellular and tissue damage contributing to neurodegenerative and neurological disorders. Spirulina (Arthrospira platensis (Nordstedt) Gomont, or Spirulina platensis), a blue-green microalga, which belongs to the class of cyanobacteria, has been studied for its numerous health benefits, which include anti-inflammatory properties, among others. Furthermore, in vivo studies have highlighted neuroprotective effects of Spirulina from neuroinflammatory insults in different brain areas. However, the mechanisms underlying the anti-inflammatory effect of the microalga are not completely understood. In this study we examined the effect of pre- and post-treatment with an acetone extract of Spirulina (E1) in an in vitro model of LPS-induced microglia activation. Methods: The effect of E1 on the release of IL-1β and TNF-α, expression of iNOS, nuclear factor erythroid 2–related factor 2 (Nrf2), and heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1), and the activation of NF-κB was investigated in primary microglia by ELISA, real-time PCR, and immunofluorescence. Results: Pre- and early post-treatment with non-cytotoxic concentrations of E1 down-regulated the release of IL-1β and TNF-α, and the over-expression of iNOS induced by LPS. E1 also significantly blocked the LPS-induced nuclear translocation of NF-κB p65 subunit, and upregulated gene and protein levels of Nrf2, as well as gene expression of HO-1. Conclusions: These results indicate that the extract of Spirulina can be useful in the control of microglia activation and neuroinflammatory processes. This evidence can support future in vivo studies to test pre- and post-treatment effects of the acetone extract from Spirulina.
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Spirulina extract, which blocks lipopolysaccharides, helped control the activation of microglia and prevent the occurrence of neuroinflammation.
“Piovan et al. [181] found that spirulina extract, which blocks lipopolysaccharides, helped control the activation of microglia and prevent the occurrence of neuroinflammation when they studied the neuroprotective effects before and after early treatment with the extract.”
From Trends and Technological Advancements in the Possible Food Applications of Spirulina and Their Health Benefits: A Review. (2022) · cites this paper as [181]
The Introduction (page unavailable) reports that pre-treatment and early post-treatment with Spirulina extract lowered LPS-induced microglial activation in vitro, and the Discussion describes a preventive anti-neuroinflammatory effect. The paper does not show that the extract blocks lipopolysaccharides themselves; the Results instead show inhibition of an LPS-induced inflammatory signaling response. (LLM, conf=0.87)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredPersistent activation of microglia and astrocytes elevates inflammatory mediators like chemokines and cytokines, and ROS and RNS release, with neurotoxic effects and responsible for chronic neurological/neurodegenerative disorders.
“Persistent activation of microglia and astrocytes elevates inflammatory mediators like chemokines and cytokines [79], the ROS and RNS release, with neurotoxic effects and responsible for chronic neurological/neurodegenerative disorders [80,81,82].”
From Beneficial Effects of Spirulina Consumption on Brain Health (2022) · cites this paper as [82]
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References 64 · Cited by 31
- Authors
- Piovan, A., Battaglia, J., Filippini, R., Dalla Costa, V., Facci, L., Argentini, C., Pagetta, A., Giusti, P., & Zusso, M.
- Affiliations
- University of Padua (IT)
- Corresponding author
- Zusso, Morena
- Venue
- Frontiers in Pharmacology
- Publisher
- Frontiers Media SA
- Published
- 2021-09-09
- Volume
- 12
- Pages
- 724993-724993
- ISSN
- 1663-9812 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC8458903
- OpenAlex
- W3197612011
- Cited by
- 31
- References
- 64
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 8
- FWCI
- 2.20
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Frontiers in Pharmacology (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, other-oa)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Padua Research Archive (University of Padova) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Funders
- Università degli Studi di Padova
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Neurology › Neuroinflammation and Neurodegeneration Mechanisms
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Aquatic Science › Seaweed-derived Bioactive Compounds
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Neurology › Neurological Disease Mechanisms and Treatments
- Keywords
- Spirulina platensis, neuroinflammation, microglial activation, lipopolysaccharide, anti-inflammatory activity, acetone extract, IL-1β, TNF-α, inducible nitric oxide synthase, Nrf2, heme oxygenase-1, NF-κB, neuroprotection, neurodegenerative diseases
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