Abstract
β-Glucan, one of the major cell wall components of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, has been found to enhance immune functions, especially by activating macrophages. However, a major obstacle to the clinical application of β-(1→3)-glucan is its low solubility in aqueous media. In this study, soluble β-glucan, free of mannoprotein, was prepared, and its effects on TNF-α secretion and phagocytosis by macrophages were evaluated. β-Glucan was first rendered soluble from the yeast cell wall by alkaline extraction (glucan-p1). The extract contained 2.8% of protein which was subsequently removed by successive DEAE-cellulose and ConA chromatography. β-Glucan thus prepared was completely free of mannoprotein and was soluble at neutral pH (glucan-p3). The effects of β-glucan on phagocytosis and TNF-α release activity were investigated. While glucan-p1 moderately induced TNF-α secretion at 200 μg/ml (550 pg of TNF-α/5 × 105 cells), glucan-p3 markedly stimulated macrophages at 200 μg/ml (2,860 pg of TNF-α/5 × 105 cells). Furthermore, glucan-p3 stimulated phagocytosis about 20% more than glucan-p1 did. In conclusion, we purified water-soluble β-glucan which was completely devoid of mannoprotein and effectively stimulated the macrophage function, enabling it to be used as an intravenous injection for sepsis.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 837-841 |
Number of pages | 5 |
Journal | Bioscience, Biotechnology and Biochemistry |
Volume | 65 |
Issue number | 4 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2001 Apr |
Keywords
- Macrophage function
- Mannoprotein
- Phagocytosis
- TNF-α
- β-glucan
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Biotechnology
- Analytical Chemistry
- Biochemistry
- Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology
- Molecular Biology
- Organic Chemistry