Biological activities of carbohydrate-branched chitosan derivatives.

Two types of biological activities of the carbohydrate-branched chitosan derivatives were investigated. One is the specific interaction with lectins and bacterium. The other is activation of canine polymorphonuclear leukocyte (PMN) cells. The specific bindings of the L-fucose-branched chitosan derivative with Ulex europaeus agglutinin I (UEA-I) and the N-acetyl-D-glucosamine-branched chitosan derivative with Concanavalin A (Con A) were confirmed by a surface plasmon resonance technique. The specific aggregation of the fluorescence-labeled L-fucose-branched chitosan derivative with Pseudomonas aeruginosa was observed by fluorescent microscopic observation. The aggregation would be attributed to the specific binding between the L-fucose-branched chitosan derivative and PA-II receptor on the cell surface of P. aeruginosa. The influence of the chitosan derivatives on the active oxygen species generation from canine PMN cells was also investigated by the luminol-aided chemiluminescence method. The chemiluminescence responses depended on the degree of substitution and water solubility of the chitosan derivatives. The water-insoluble chitosan derivatives would stimulate the PMN cells by a phagocytosis mechanism, and the water-soluble ones would sensitize the PMN cells by a priming mechanism.